


The Day the Ocean Broke

by trashcocoon



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future Fish, Angst, Falling In Love, Fluff, Is that a thing, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Mistreatment of mermaids, well it should be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 02:05:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5146265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashcocoon/pseuds/trashcocoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is something- someone- something- lying on the ground. Rin takes in silky black hair, panicked blue eyes, broad shoulders entangled in a fishing net- one twisted in all the wrong directions- and a muscular torso spattered in blood before his mind balks and refuses to comprehend any further. Where its legs should be is an impossibly long fish tail with sparkling pale blue scales and thick blue fins on the end. It’s thrashing around in time with the creature’s frantically whipping around head as emergency personnel attempt to move it onto a stretcher that’s about three times too small to hold it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something-Someone-Something

He’s stuck in mid-afternoon traffic when he gets the call.

            “Rin? Rin, come in,” Sousuke’s voice crackles over his car radio. Rin quickly sits up, pushing his hat back on his head.

            “Yeah I’m here. What’s up Sousuke?”

            “Big fishing accident down at the docks. Everyone’s going nuts. They need extra officers.”

            “On my way,” says Rin, switching on his sirens.

            “See you there,” says Sousuke.

            Rin pulls his hat forward again to shield his eyes from the sun as he guides the cruiser through the grudgingly parting sea of cars.

            He arrives at the docks exactly seven minutes later. After hurriedly slamming the car door, he pushes through the crowds of people flocking towards the caution taped-off section of the dock.

            “Oi, Rin!” Rin turns in surprise to see a green-eyed fireman waving to him from a few feet away.

            “Makoto?” he asks in confusion, striding towards the other man. “What are you doing here? I don’t see a fire.”

            “The guy who called in said he wasn’t sure which emergency unit applied in this situation so they should just send everyone,” explains Makoto.

            “What happened?” Rin is asking when he’s interrupted by Sousuke running up to them.

            “Rin! – Oh hey Makoto – Rin, they need us right now. I think you’re going to want to see this.”

            “Talk later,” Rin quickly says to Makoto before following Sousuke.

            “Hey! Can someone please explain to me what _happened?_ ” demands Rin, coming to a full stop and grabbing the sleeve of Sousuke’s uniform.

            Sousuke simply looks at him in that quiet, stoic way of his and says, “Just come see.”

            Rin follows him again under the caution tape to where paramedics were swarmed around someone lying on the ground. Between pressed white uniforms Rin catches glimpses of flashing blue and bare skin, but he can’t get a full picture.

            “Sousuke! Rin!”

            “Chief Mikoshiba!” says Rin, turning to face the head of police.

            “I need you two to go help with crowd control. The civilian-to-officer ratio is way too high- they need all the help they can get.” The chief pauses to lift his cap off his head, rake his fingers through his bright red hair, and put his cap back before racing off again. Sousuke sets off immediately but before Rin can follow suit, a paramedic with urgent blue eyes grabs his arm.

            “Excuse me sir, could you please give us a hand over here?” she asks.

            “Sorry, I have to go help with crowd control,” says Rin, trying gently to remove his arm.

            “Please sir, we really need help restraining it! There aren’t enough of us to do everything!”

            “I-I can’t! I have to –“ Rin sighs, seeing the desperate look in her eyes. “Fine. What do you need me to do?”

            “Help restrain it,” she answered, leading him through the crowd of flashing lights and people yelling orders.

            “Restrain _what?_ ” demands Rin, really frustrated now. “What the heck actually hap-“ the question dies in his throat as the paramedics part to give him a full view.

            There is something- someone- something- lying on the ground. Rin takes in silky black hair, panicked blue eyes, broad shoulders entangled in a fishing net- one twisted in all the wrong directions- and a muscular torso spattered in blood before his mind balks and refuses to comprehend any further. Where its legs should be is an impossibly long fish tail with sparkling pale blue scales and thick blue fins on the end. It’s thrashing around in time with the creature’s frantically whipping around head as emergency personnel attempt to move it onto a stretcher that’s about three times too small to hold it.

            His mind still reeling in shock, Rin steps carefully over to the waist where the tail begins and again attempts to understand what he’s seeing. Instinctively, he puts out a hand to touch the uninjured shoulder through the net. To his surprise, the movements of the tail slow down and the head stops entirely as the creature turns Rin and studies him with those wide blue eyes in a surprisingly calm manner compared to how it had just been behaving. The paramedics take this opportunity to scoop the creature onto the stretcher and that into the back of the ambulance.

            “Sir, would you mind going riding in the back with it?” asks the same paramedic that had approached him in the first place. “I’m sorry to ask so much of you, but you seem to have a calming effect on it and I don’t think the ambulance can take it if it has another panic attack. Rin nods numbly and climbs into the back of the ambulance, catching sight of Sousuke herding the crowds away and Makoto shooting him a confused look before the doors slam closed, and suddenly it’s just him, a paramedic, and the…thing.


	2. Haru Is Not a Fish

_Mermaid_ , Rin decides, staring at the fish tail. _For now, anyway._ Although judging by the flat chest, it’s probably a mer- _man,_ but that just sounded awkward and ungainly for such a creature. “Mermaid” is the best word in Rin’s vocabulary he can think of to identify it, yet it’s still kind of a small word for kind of a big creature. Rin had observed when he was outside that the tail was long, but “long” doesn’t really cut it. It spills off the stretcher and piles up on the ground in shimmering coils; Rin has to sit with his legs tucked awkwardly underneath him in order to not step on it.

He looks back at the mermaid’s eyes, which, while calmer than when it was lying on the docks, still house waves of anxiety and says, “It’s gonna be okay. They’re going to fix you right up, and you’ll be good as new in no time.” Rin has no idea if the mermaid can even understand what he’s saying, but he seems to get it and, to Rin’s surprise, shoots out a hand to grab his wrist.

Although it surprises him at first, Rin hesitantly rearranges his hand so he’s holding it, careful not to look away from the mermaid’s eyes less it start panicking again. The mermaid closes its eyes and stays that way for the whole trip, which passes in seemingly no time for Rin.

When the back of the ambulance opens again, the first thing he notices is that they are not at a hospital.

“Why are we at an aquarium?” he asks a doctor as he grabs the side of the stretcher.

“They’ve got equipment better suited to marine animals here.”

“I don’t think he’s an animal.”

“Look buddy, he’s got a fish tail and came out of the ocean, we’re gonna have to treat him like a fish for the time being,” says the doctor in a harried voice.

Rin is about to protest this but the mermaid beats him to it. The second his hand is wrenched out of Rin’s, he starts up his thrashing routine again. The doctor groans.

“Okay, I think you’re going to literally have to hold his hand through this whole thing,” he said tiredly. Rin quickly takes the mermaid’s hand again, and he immediately calms down. As it is, he does end up holding his hand through this “whole thing”- whatever you qualify that as. Relocating the mermaid’s shoulder, removing the net, and stitching up the wound on the chest is all done with the mermaid having at least one point of contact with Rin. That is, until they “relocate” (read: forcefully dump) the mermaid into a huge tank that according to the large, brightly colored label pasted on the side of it, used to hold dolphins. As soon as he hits the water, the mermaid shoots off to the bottom of the tank and curls up behind a large plastic rock and a patch of seaweed (also plastic).

“Officer Matsuoka?” One of the people who had stitched up the mermaid’s chest comes up to Rin. “I’m sorry to keep you like this, but for some reason the…” There’s a pause as she tries to search for a word that isn’t mermaid.

“Mermaid,” Rin fills in for her.

“Yes, well. For some reason it will only cooperate when you’re present. Although it doesn’t seem hostile, it’s both a new species and clearly has impressive physical capabilities, so we need to find out more about it as soon as possible, and I believe we will only be able to do that if you’re there.”

Rin groans and glances around agitatedly. “Fine,” he says finally. “But I really need to call in to my chief- I abandoned my duty and will have been missing for over four hours now. I don’t plan on taking responsibility for any consequences this might’ve caused.”

The doctor nods vigorously. “Of course, I understand. Go right ahead.”

After an extremely uncomfortable phone call with Chief Mikoshiba, Rin returns to the doctors now huddled at the top of the stairs that led to the edge of the mermaid’s tank.

“Okay, here’s the plan, everyone,” says a doctor who’d introduced herself as Dr. Matoy. “We’re going to send Rin and Drs. Kyriuin and Ken into the tank and try to coax the mermaid”- everyone had reluctantly conceded to calling it that- “to the surface so the rest of us can try to communicate with it using several different tactics.”

Rin and the doctors change into wetsuits and stand poised at the edge of the tank.

“One…two…three…and, dive.”

Rin has always enjoyed the water and was even a prospective for the Japanese Olympic team before he had decided he’d rather pursue criminal justice, but the oxygen tank feels clunky and awkward as he glides toward the bottom. It doesn’t belong in the water with him- no machine does. It should, in Rin’s opinion just be man and nature, pure and honest, like an embrace rather than a confrontation.

As his ears begin to pop from the water pressure, Rin can see the end of the mermaid’s tail behind the rock. Dr. Ken motions for him to go ahead, and he swims around the edge of the rock to come face-to-face with the mermaid.

“Hello,” Rin murmurs. Up close, he is even more beautiful, especially with his black hair floating softly around his face. His skin is smoother than any Rin has ever seen and his eyelashes have a silver sheen to them. His eyes are wider than ever at the intrusion of his environment. He cocks his head to the side and stares at Rin.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Rin says slowly. No response. He starts trying to make motions to indicate that the mermaid should come to the surface but is interrupted by him suddenly jerking back in fright. Rin looks behind him- the doctors have come into view. The mermaid immediately shoots away to hide behind another rock farther away. After surfacing to discuss different methods, it is eventually decided that Rin should go by himself and bring the mermaid to the surface. Although this works initially, the minute one of the doctors steps closer to him, he darts away back into the water. So they try leaving the room and watching through the security cameras, but this time the mermaid refuses to surface at all.

 _So it must understand us enough to know they’re watching through the cameras,_ Rin thinks.

Finally, they decide that the only way to do it is to leave the two utterly alone in the room together and simply have Rin report back to them. It’s clear none of them are thrilled by this arrangement, but once they’ve left the room, Rin thinks it’s better this way.

Rin kneels by the edge of the tank. “They’re gone now, you can come out,” he calls softly. A ripple of movement and then the mermaid is pushing himself up to the edge of the tank so he and Rin are again face-to-face. Water streams off his torso and hair, making his skin gleam in ribbons. His nails are long and sharp and painted a deep blue and Rin notices patches of scales identical to the ones on his tail on the sides of his neck and stomach. Again, Rin has to appreciate just how long his tail is. The skin turns abruptly to icy blue scales at the waist and the tail extends all the way to the back corner of the tank. It floats there, like a huge, ethereal strand of seaweed, moving just slightly. Rin gulps and takes a step back. The mermaid studies him with an unreadable expression.

“H-hi there,” Rin says, waving, then feeling silly for doing so. “Can you understand me?” More silence. Then-

“Rin.”

Rin’s eyes widen. “Y-yeah that’s me! How did you know my name?”

The mermaid points to his discarded police uniform on the floor.

“The name tag, of course. So you can read?”

A nod.

“What’s your name, then?” The mermaid says nothing. “C’mon, I know you’re intelligent-“

“Haru.”

“Haru? That’s your name? It’s nice to meet you Haru.”

Haru bows his head slightly, as if saying, _nice to meet you too._

Rin laughs and shakes his head. “This is crazy. I’m- I’m talking to a _mermaid._ So- are there more of you?”

Haru raises his eyebrows. “Are you going to tell them?”

“I-“ Rin looks away in shame. “I have to,” he says apologetically.

“Please don’t.”

Rin looks at his eyes, desperate and pleading, and suddenly realizes- this poor creature is defenseless. There’s only one of him, and he clearly has no idea what the humans might do to him.

“I promise they won’t hurt you, or any of your hypothetical family,” says Rin. More puppy eyes. “Fine, I won’t tell them.”

“You’re lying.”

Rin scowls. Trust the stupid mermaid to call his bluff. “Okay fine, I’m lying. But we’ve never seen one of you before and we have to make sure you’re not going to harm us.”

“I promise I won’t harm you, but please don’t tell them-“ Haru bit his lip and looked away.

“That there are more of you?” Rin finishes. “It’s okay, I won’t tell them. Can you please tell me more? Why haven’t we seen one of you before now?”

Haru looks hesitant but eventually says, “We don’t usually come close enough to the shore and surface, but I…I ran away and ended up getting caught in that net. I might’ve still been able to get away but I twisted my shoulder and cut my chest on the wire.”

“Why did you run away?”

Immediately Haru shuts down- Rin can see it in his face.

“Never mind, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I think that’s enough for today, but hopefully I’ll see you soon,” says Rin, quickly backing down and mentally berating himself for his mistake.

“Rin.”

“Hm?” Rin turns around to face Haru.

“Thank you.” Haru reaches out and places his hand on Rin’s left shoulder and strokes his thumb up his bicep in a gentle, rhythmic motion. Rin recognizes it as what he had done the first time he saw Haru and smiles. Even after Haru has dove back to the bottom of the tank and Rin has closed the door behind him, he can still feel the ghost of Haru’s hand on his shoulder, cool and steady and calm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, there's chapter two! I hope you liked it. Also I didn't realize at first but I accidentally posted the first chapter as a one-shot so many apologies to those who were misled by that. As I have a couple chapters ready to go, there should be regular updates for while, and then I plan to start writing new ones this weekend. Comment and let me know what you think! 8D


	3. Ariel-with-Abs

Explaining what had happened to Sousuke takes long enough. Explaining what had happened to every single other officer that bombards him with questions the minute he gets back to the station takes all night.  
The minute Rin gets inside his house, he slumps against his door and groans. Getting out of the aquarium had been horrible too; the doctors and higher-ups had decided they’d better not tell the press anything else until they had more information about Haru for the sake of both his protection and the people’s. But the people didn’t seem to care about their protection, because the minute he left building reporters swamped him, demanding to know more about Ariel-with-abs.  
He flops down on his bed fully clothed and switches off the light. It seems like he only sleeps for two seconds before his phone is ringing and he has to get back in his car to go down to the aquarium. Apparently he’s been cleared with Chief Mikoshiba to take as much time off duty as it took to sort out the whole Haru situation, or at least until Haru would talk to anyone else. When he gets there, there’s already a ring of reporters waiting to pounce. He squares his shoulders, ready to fight his way through, but to his surprise and relief, two armed security guards come to flank him on his way to the doors. The irony of a police officer needing protection from more police officers is not lost on him, nor is how valuable he must be to them. He supposes that as he’s the only one who can communicate with Haru it makes sense, but it doesn’t really dawn on him until he sees those security guards.  
“Mr. Matsuoka,” says a harried-looking Dr. Matoy, walking briskly up to him. Around her, more people in lab coats, wet suits, and white collars are running around shouting orders and looking equally frazzled.  
“Just call me Rin,” he says tiredly.  
“Rin. We need you immediately. Haru has refused all forms of food and it is our belief he didn’t consume anything prior to coming to Japan. He’s already become weak and sluggish and we don’t know how to help him,” she says urgently. Rin can see the bags under her eyes and instantly feels guilty for his own complaints of exhaustion.  
“Okay, what do you need me to do?” he asks.  
“We’ve prepared pretty much every meal under the sun, including those of humans, land, and marine animals, but he won’t eat any of it. We need you to talk him into eating some because he won’t take any from us.”  
Rin is shown into the room with the huge tank; at the top of the stairs are three folding tables piled high with all manner of rather disgusting-looking foods. The minute the door shuts behind him, Rin strides right up to the tank, sticks his hands in the water and says in a loud voice,  
“Haru, it’s me. You can come out.” A second of nothing, then-   
The same black head breaks the surface, but this time Haru can’t summon the strength to hoist himself up all the way- his arms shake just to hold him a little above the water. His skin is a gray-green color and his scales and even his eyelashes seem to have lost their sheen. Rin stares in shock at this lifeless carbon copy of the beautiful creature he’d talked to the day before.  
“Oh Haru, you have to eat something,” he whispers.  
Haru presses his dry lips together and shakes his head.  
“What do you mean, no???” Rin demands, his voice rising. “You don’t get to say no! You’re going to die if you don’t eat something! Don’t you get it? You’re going to die, Haru!” Rin yells, putting his face up close to Haru’s.  
Haru leans back in shock. For a moment he doesn’t say anything. Then finally, “If I eat they’ll do more experiments on me.”  
“What?” asks Rin, confused.  
“Experiments,” Haru continues in a dry rasp. “They want to figure out where I come from and my anatomy and everything.”  
“What kind of experiments?” asks Rin, still perplexed.  
“They took-“ Haru holds out a shuddering hand. There’s a bandage wrapped around the front of it. “They took a finger.”  
Rin stares in shock. No. That can’t be. They wouldn’t.  
“And my scales.” Haru rises further out of the water to show Rin a section of his tail that’s raw pink and scale-less. “And they injected me with something, and I don’t know what it is.”  
Rin realizes he is shaking. How can this be? He promised Haru they wouldn’t hurt him. This is cruelty. Haru is a person. He swallows- he still has to make sure Haru didn’t get any worse; he’d figure out more about this later.  
“I had no idea they would do that to you,” Rin says in a quiet voice. “I am so, so sorry. But you have to eat something. The experiments might be harming you, but you will die if you don’t eat something soon. You need nourishment.”  
Haru shakes his head again.  
“Please,” Rin whispers. “I’ll sort this out, I promise. But I need you to eat something. Please, just for me.”  
Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Haru points to a dish on the right side of the second table. Rin brings it over to him- it’s mackerel. Haru takes a tentative bite, then another, then another. Once he starts eating, it’s clear he doesn’t plan to stop any time soon. He polishes off the mackerel in no time and gestures impatiently to a platter of pineapple. Rin is relieved to see some color come back into his skin when he’s finished that. He says his good-byes hurriedly, with another touch to Haru’s shoulder, then hurries out of the room.  
“Rin!” Dr. Ken greets him the minute he steps out the door. “How did it go? Did he eat something?”  
Rin grabs him by the collar slams him against the wall.  
“What’s this I hear,” he growls through bared teeth, knowing it’ll make him look scarier, “about you performing experiments on Haru?”  
People around them have stopped to stare. Dr. Ken gulps.  
“I’d be happy to explain if you’d please just let go of me-“  
“Not until you explain this!” Rin yells. Suddenly Dr. Matoy is next to him and pulling him off of Dr. Ken. Rin lets her, then turns to grab her by the collar too.  
“What did you inject him with???” he screams. “Does it occur to you that part of the reason he might look so bad is that you fucking cut off his finger?”  
Dr. Matoy regards him calmly. “I will explain Rin, I promise, but I can’t do anything when you’re holding me like this.”  
Rin reluctantly lets go of her. “Fine. Explain.”  
“Would you please follow me to the lab?” she asks in that same calm, psychotherapist voice. Rin gnashes his teeth furiously. What choice does he have? He nods.  
“As we said before, Haru is of equal intelligence to that of a human being with a great deal more physical power,” she says, pressing the down button for the elevator. “As he refuses to communicate with anyone other than you, we have no idea if he’s a threat to us or not. We have to know more about him before we can take any other measures-“  
“And you did that by cutting him up and injecting him with things?” Rin cuts in. They’re in the elevator now, and Dr. Matoy is visibly nervous about being alone in such an enclosed space with him.  
“We need to study the DNA to determine his place of origin, place on the evolutionary tree, et cetera. As for the injection, it’s a sort of antidepressant solution cooked up in the lab down here for animals that aren’t responding to caretakers,” she says as the elevator dings to a stop and the doors slide open.  
“Haru’s not an animal,” says Rin, following her down a starkly lit hallway with concrete walls, floor, and ceiling.  
“We’re still not sure about that-“  
“Haru is not an animal,” Rin repeats insistently. “He knows me. He could tell there were cameras on. Besides, aren’t there more humane ways of procuring DNA?”  
Dr. Matoy looks uncomfortable at this. “Well…I rather thought so too, but the head researcher here insisted we take the scales and finger. You’ll have to talk to him.” They reach a door that Dr. Matoy pushes open to reveal a completely black laboratory- the cabinets are black, the tables are black, the chairs are black, even the lab coats of the scientists inside are black. The only splashes of color are on the scientists themselves and in the bubbling beakers strewn across all available surfaces. Desks covered in papers and computers are pushed against the walls and there are a few tanks of animals on the counters with the sinks.  
“Ah, Dr. Matoy! And you must be Rin,” says an older, good-looking man with laughter lines, warm brown eyes, and an English accent. He strides towards them confidently while wiping his hands on his lab coat. “Our miracle man. I hear you got Haru to eat this morning.”  
“Who are you?” asks Rin warily.  
“Did they not tell you?” he asks, looking surprised. “I’m Dr. Rosen, but you can call me Kevin. I’m in charge of the Haru research project.”  
“You cut off his finger,” Rin says point blank.  
“Yeeees, well, you see, that was really essential to our research. In doing so, we found out something very important,” says Dr. Rosen (Rin is not calling this guy Kevin), beckoning to a man Rin’s age with blue hair and red-framed glasses. “When we cut it off-“ the other guy hands Dr. Rosen his laptop- “we found out he has incredible regenerative properties.” He pulls up some pictures on his laptop. They’re kind of fuzzy, like they were taken from very far away and zoomed in. The first picture shows the bleeding stump of Haru’s hand. The next shows that the bleeding has stopped and skin has grown over the stump. The next shows a short finger, the next a slightly longer one, and the next a fully-grown finger.  
“Did you know his finger would grow off when you cut it off?” asks Rin, trying not to appear fazed.  
“Not exactly, but we also wanted to conduct a DNA analysis on him, and he wouldn’t cooperate enough to just let us swab inside his mouth or something, so we had no choice.” Rin opens his mouth to protest, but Dr. Rosen barrels on. “If you’d like to see what we’ve found about it, you can go talk to Rei, my assistant, while I talk to Dr. Matoy.” He gestures to the blue-haired man.  
“Please come over here, sir,” says the blue-haired man, turning to walk over to his desk, his lab coat billowing out behind him. Rin glowers at Dr. Rosen’s hastily retreating back then follows Rei. What choice does he have?  
“You can see we have his finger here, and although it hasn’t really done much, we noticed that the nail polish doesn’t appear to be coming off even though it’s been in an alcoholic solution for about twelve hours now,” says Rei, holding up a plastic box full of bubbling blue liquid with the finger suspended in it. Rin suppresses a shudder. Rei places the container back on his desk.  
“So what are you going to do now?” asks Rin.  
“Take a scraping of the nail polish, we think, and run some tests on it to see what it’s made of. If Haru really did come from the ocean, it doesn’t make sense that he would have access to real nail polish.” Rei hesitates before continuing, “To tell the truth, I don’t really approve of this.”  
“This…?”  
“This injecting and cutting and testing,” says Rei. “To damage such perfect beauty, not to mention to lay harm to what seems like a very human creature, is just fundamentally wrong to me.” Rin notices that he runs his fingers over the frame of a photograph on his desk as he says this.  
“Who’s that?” he asks, pointing. It’s a picture of a young man in an astronaut suit winking one of his huge magenta eyes at the camera and flashing a peace sign, a grin spread across his face and his thick blonde hair tousled from the helmet. His features are so sweet and young he practically looks like a child. Rei’s eyes soften behind his glasses.   
“That’s my boyfriend, Nagisa,” he replied, smiling. “He was on the flight that went up to the station on Mars a while ago. He’s supposed to be back in a week.”  
Rin smiles too. “That’s pretty cool that your boyfriend’s an astronaut.”  
“I suppose, but I worry about him.” There’s a moment of the two of them just studying the photograph until Rin finally realizes something.  
“Wait a minute, when were those photographs taken?” he asks. “I only left, like, ten minutes ago and his finger definitely wasn’t there.”  
“We had cameras mounted in his tank this morning,” explains Rei. Rin raises his eyebrows. “I know, I know, I don’t like it either,” says Rei, grimacing. “But none of this is my decision. If it were up to me, I’d give him his space.”  
“May I see the video feed?” asks Rin. Rei nods and taps something into his laptop. A screen pops up, showing the bottom of Haru’s tank. Haru is lying on his stomach among some clusters of seaweed, playing idly with the bloodied bandage he’s taken off by now. Sure enough, his finger is back, good as new.  
“Huh. That’s strange. His finger’s healed, but his tail hasn’t,” muttered Rei, looking closely at the screen.  
Rin opens his mouth to say he could ask Haru about it but quickly stops himself. He doesn’t want to do anything that might help the people performing dubious experiments on Haru, even if this particular one seems okay. Rin reflects on the fact that the only time he’s actually had alone with Haru was yesterday. Suddenly, he knows what he’s going to do tonight.


	4. Here Comes the Rin in Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for that terrible chapter title. Another pretty short chapter but they'll start getting longer soon.

The world is quiet that night when Rin locks his door at twelve o’clock and adjusts his backpack. There’s something about being outside at nighttime that is just so much more…delicious than the day. The chill in the air makes you want to run. The light only from streetlamps, the moon, and stars makes you feel like you’re on a secret mission. Tonight, Rin sort of is.  
He gets on his bike and flies down the steep downhill of his street, the cool night air rushing past his face. On his back is the black backpack he hasn’t used since high school, filled with everything he might need. He’s double checked everything and taken account for every possible variable. He owns tonight.  
Once the aquarium looms into view, he dismounts from his bike and locks it up in some bushes near the sidewalk. He pulls out the key they had given him earlier that day; it had been no problem persuading them to hand it over. Guilt over him finding out about the experiments combined with the simple logic of him having one had won them over. It’s really more of a keycard than a key that he flashes over one of the monitors next to the door. He glances up at the little red light on the security camera above.  
“I’m coming for you,” he mutters, pushing the door open.  
He had managed to get a fair bit of information out of Dr. Matoy and Rei earlier, including that all the employees were required to go home at eleven thirty- all except the security guard. He peeks around the corner, and sure enough- there he is, right at the entrance to the ground-level offices, picking at his nails. Luckily, Rin knows his way around.  
When he was eight, Rin had gotten lost here. It wasn’t his fault; he had just wanted to see the sharks a little closer, but before he knew it, he was in a very narrow sort of alleyway, five inches of space on either side of him. When he came out the other side, he found himself in a cluttered office room with a very confused employee in front of several camera monitors. Eventually he’d gotten back to his class, but it was a good thing he still remembered how to get there, because that was what he was using now. He flashes the sharks a quick grin and imagines they give him one back before edging into the secret passage. Only problem: he’s a good bit larger than when he was eight, and now he only has one inch on either side of him, and that’s with him walking sideways.  
He emerges into that same cluttered office, gasping for breath. He hurries over to the monitors and pulls out the instructions he’d printed off the Internet. He’d had some training regarding security cameras when he was entering the police force, but all the same, they’re confusing to his not-really-technology-oriented brain. He quickly taps in the password that someone had stupidly left tacked up on a filing cabinet in the labs downstairs and gets to work. There he is entering the building and disappearing behind the sharks’ tank. As the instructions say, he selects the frames he wanted gone and presses delete. Next step: turn off the cameras he’d be passing by- cameras 3, 4, 5, and 7, as well as the new ones in Haru’s tank. When the right monitors go blank, he stands up and hurries back out through the alleyway.  
Finally, he reaches the door to Haru’s room and flashes his key card. Quietly, quietly, he opens the doors, and-  
There he is.   
There he is. Swimming lazily around his tank, his tail unfurling and undulating behind him. The minute he catches sight of Rin, he shoots up to the top of the tank, his expression thrilled and eager.  
“Rin.”  
“I’m here,” Rin says, his voice echoing in the empty room. He quickly climbs the steps to the top so that they’re face-to-face. He’s happy to see me, he thinks, feeling unexpectedly warm inside.  
“Cameras,” says Haru, an urgent look on his face.  
“I know, I turned them off,” Rin reassures him. “I wanted to ask you about something- your finger regenerated.” Haru says nothing. “Is that something all your people can do?” Haru shakes his head. “Well then how did you do it?” demands Rin, frustrated.  
“Magic,” Haru finally replies. Rin’s laughter bounces off the walls until he realizes Haru is serious.  
“Wait, magic?” he asks incredulously. “For real?” Haru doesn’t reply, which Rin takes as a yes. Rin shakes his head. “I don’t believe you.”  
Haru looks vaguely irritated. “It is,” he insists.  
“Prove it,” says Rin. They stare at each other for a long time, each wondering who will back down first. Finally Rin looks away, feeling stupid. When he looks back up, he has to hold in a gasp- Haru is holding a ball of deep blue, shimmering fire in his right hand.  
“Magic,” he repeats, smiling a little at the expression on Rin’s face. He reaches out and takes one of Rin’s hands then places the fire in it. He cups his hand over Rin’s before it can escape, and Rin watches in wonder as the skin on his hand turns green, then orange, then purple. The color spreads up Rin’s arm and over his whole body, warming it from the inside out and making his veins glow. He can see his blood coursing through him in magenta, gold, turquoise, and a thousand other colors. With his left hand, Haru touches Rin’s lips, and inside his mouth the flavor of pineapple spreads outward like a candy melting on his tongue. It seeps down his throat and through his whole face; in the water Rin can see his eyes are glowing gold. Then Haru touches each individual finger of Rin’s other hand and the nails each flood with a different color. Rin is glowing and shimmering and warm and colorful all over, and he can feel both the magic and Haru himself coursing through him. He has never felt more alive. Then suddenly it’s all over as Haru takes his hand away and the ball of fire evaporates into the air.  
Rin is sure his mouth is wide open but makes no move to close it. “That was beautiful. That was…the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt. So…can all mermaids do that? Magic?”  
“No,” Haru replies unhelpfully. His eyes drop to the surface of the water and he twists his newly regenerated finger around in his other hand.  
“You-you have to understand, they weren’t punishing you,” says Rin apologetically. “I think it was wrong and absolutely inhumane to cut off your finger, but they just wanted to find out more about you.”  
Haru frowns. “The doctor cut it off because he was angry.”  
“Huh?”  
“He was mad I wasn’t cooperating and chopped it off in a fit of rage.”  
There’s that feeling again, that feeling of not being able to breathe. “Doctor Rosen?” Haru nods. “Are you sure?” Another nod. “Oh no.” Rin’s stomach is turning over. “Oh no, oh no, this is bad. He’s head of the research team for you, Haru, and he’s mistreating you. Oh my God. I have to get you out of here, now.”  
“Where?”  
“I don’t know. Somewhere that’s not here. They think you’re an animal, and they’re treating you as one. There’s got to be some way to get you out.”  
“Human.”  
“What?”  
“I can turn into a human for while.”  
“That’s perfect!” says Rin excitedly. “You can become human for as long as it takes to get you out of here to another body of water, right?”  
“Right…but…”  
“But what?” demands Rin, his mind still racing a mile a minute with plans and ideas.  
“What’ll happen to you?”  
“What do you mean what’ll happen to me?”  
“You-” Haru struggles for a moment with a frustrated look on his face. “I can’t phrase it- won’t you…” He shakes his head with irritation then takes a deep breath. “Not…be good?”  
“Not be good?” asks Rin in confusion.  
“Trouble. Won’t you be in trouble?”  
Trouble. That’s right. Rin’s a police officer. This would be considered stealing- a law enforcer, breaking the law. There’s no way. He can’t do it. He looks at Haru.  
He can do it. Suddenly he knows, with more certainty than he’s ever felt before, that he can- that he has to- save Haru. Rin doesn’t understand this, this feeling bubbling up inside him, but it’s giving him motivation, and it’s making him positive that he’ll save Haru no matter what it takes. Rin sets his mouth in a line.  
“Yes. Yes, I will get in trouble. If they find out I did it. So come on,” he says, leaning forward and quirking an eyebrow. “We’ve got two hours. Let’s come up with an escape plan.”


	5. I Like Big Bags and I Cannot Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone stop me with these chapter titles. Also updates will probably be on a weekly basis now (so like every Wednesday, or around then) because school is dESTROYING ME.

The day passes in a blur. Rin talks to Dr. Matoy; he talks to Dr. Ken. He talks to Dr. Rosen; he tries not to strangle Dr. Rosen. When they leave him alone with Haru this time, he doesn’t talk to him about the plan- the cameras are on, and besides, they’d been over it a thousand times- they both knew what to do. This time, he gets in the water with Haru. The researchers had decided that perhaps instead of trying to draw Haru out into this world, they could try going into his.  
Rin adjusts his goggles and gives the cameras a thumbs-up before diving into the tank. Instantly, his mind feels calmer, clearer. He is sure of himself in the water- he knows how to move, how to feel. Haru swims up from behind the rock and gives Rin a secret, knowing glance. Rin smiles despite himself.  
He gives Haru a wave, and Haru slowly swims closer to him, his tail pulsing in the water behind him. Once he and Rin are only inches apart, his tilts his head to the side, clearly uncertain as to what to do next.  
Oh- right, thinks Rin, remembering what they’d told him to do. Slowly, he holds up his hand and motions for Haru to do the same. He almost loses it when Haru rolls his eyes at the insult to his intelligence and holds up his own hand. Rin makes a fist and Haru copies- supposedly this is to test his cognitive abilities, but at this point Rin hardly sees it as necessary. They go through a series of hand motions, then Rin moves on to the full-body ones. He starts with the three-hundred-sixty degree spin they’d told him to do and when he turns back to Haru, he sees Haru’s eyes have widened and his expression has turned curious. Rin’s eyes narrow. What is he going to do?  
Slowly, slowly Haru turns in a mesmerizing circle, his tail flowing in a sparkling, gleaming spiral, reaching all the way to the bottom of the tank. His hair floats up around his face, framing it gracefully. Rin feels his cheeks go pink behind the mask. What next? Oh right. He makes his way to Haru and swims in a quick circle around him. Haru suddenly beats his tail hard, just once, and shoots over to Rin to coil his tail loosely around him before twisting his torso around too so that he is, again, only inches away from Rin. He brings his face right up to Rin’s, his eyes betraying nothing. Rin gulps and almost goes cross-eyed. Suddenly, Haru shoots back up, his tail unfurling as he rises far above Rin, a shimmering spot of light. Rin’s eyes widen in wonder and follow Haru’s descent as he comes back down again.  
“Uh…okay,” swallows Rin, the mask making his voice sound tinny and strange. “That was good. I’m supposed to see if you’ll follow voice commands now,” he says, all too aware of the cameras on them. Dr. Rosen and the others still don’t know the full scope of Haru’s intelligence- hell, he hasn’t even told them Haru can speak- and he wants to keep it that way. If Haru does anything now, they’re both majorly screwed- but Rin has faith in Haru’s perceptive abilities. He takes a deep breath and says,  
“All right Haru, can you swim around the tank once?”  
Haru shoots off gracefully, his tail waving playfully behind him as he does a full lap of the tank, then swirls lazily back over to Rin, hair streaming back from his face.  
“Um,” Rin manages, swallowing. “Could you do a back flip?”  
Haru backs up enough so that when he flips over his tail doesn’t smack Rin in the face.  
“Well, that’s…all for today Haru,” says Rin, feeling more flustered than he ever has in his life and also inexplicably angry. Haru gives him a partly confused, partly irritated look. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”  
He casts a sly glance over his shoulder at Haru as he swims towards the top of the tank. Just as he slings a leg over the edge to pull himself out of the water, he sees Haru staring at him with wide eyes that quickly narrow into a determined expression. He doesn’t need to say anything for Rin to know what he’s thinking- he’ll be seeing Rin way sooner than tomorrow.  
The minute he gets to the lab, Dr. Rosen runs over him and grabs him by the shoulders excitedly.  
“Rin! That was amazing! I can’t believe it- he can understand human words! You- you communicated with my mermaid!” Suddenly he wraps his arms around Rin’s neck in a hug. “Thank you.”  
Rin wrenches his arms away with a snarl. “What do you mean, your mermaid? Just because you’re the head of the research team for him doesn’t mean you own him. He’s not some pet- he’s his own person.”  
Dr. Rosen’s eyes widen. “Oh, I didn’t mean it that way at all! I would never presume to own Haru,” he says quickly and apologetically. “I just mean after all the work I’ve done with him I feel really close to him, you know?”  
“He chopped it off it a fit of rage,” Haru’s voice rings through Rin’s mind. “Well, I’m not sure if Haru exactly feels the same,” he says, fighting to maintain an inside voice.  
Dr. Rosen smiles gently, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, of course. Who’s to know if he really feels close to anyone? He can’t talk, after all.”  
This is what Rin is thinking about while he sits in his car at eleven forty-five pm that night a few streets away from the aquarium, a black ski mask and extra clothes stuffed into a bag beside him and a thousand conflicting thoughts running through his mind. Perhaps it’s a bit obvious to say so, but he’s realizing some holes in his plan. First of all, he’s the only one Haru will be around without losing his mind, apparently, so he’ll be the first one they come to when they find out he’s missing. Second, when they do come to him, they’re going to investigate him and his place- he’s done enough house searches to know that the police are thorough, and he fails to see how he’s going to hide a fifteen-foot (give or take a few feet) merman from literally anyone. Not to mention, this is a crime. He hadn’t spend a terribly long time memorizing the animal rights laws in this area, but he was pretty sure it was illegal to assist in the escape of a lab specimen. He’s supposed to be apprehending criminals, not becoming one. What’s happening to him?  
Oh God, what am I doing? he thinks, burying his face in his hands. This isn’t fair. He should have to commit a crime just to save a helpless creature. Those damn, ruthless scientists- he grips the edges of his seat angrily- they should be the ones in trouble! But if he reported them, they’d know Haru could talk, and if they knew Haru could talk they’d just send in even worse researchers with even worse tactics.  
“Agh!” Rin yells, clenching his teeth and grabbing a fistful of his own hair. “Stupid, stupid researchers! Stupid people! Stupid…humans! Why is it that the minute we find something good, we beat it up and throw it in a cage!” His resolve hardens. He’d made a promise to Haru, and he intends to keep it. Besides, if they’re counting Haru as an animal, animal abuse is a crime too. With that, he takes a deep breath, grabs his bag, and gets out of the car.  
Once the aquarium is in sight, he has to take a few more deep breaths before yanking the ski mask over his face and tucking in the strands of hair. He goes through the same process as he had the night before with the key card and the security cameras. This time when he enters Haru’s room, he bounds right up the stairs to the tank where Haru sits at the bottom in an ethereal blue glow.  
Haru swims quickly to the surface, and just as they’d discussed, he tosses his tail over the edge of the tank with what seems like a great amount of effort.  
“Oof,” Rin mutters, helping him ease most of his body onto the platform until only the very end of his tail dangles in the water below.  
The room is dark, and the water dripping from Haru’s body falls to the floor below with echoing plinking noises. Seeing Haru out of the water, his whole body squeezed onto a tiny platform, raises a panic in Rin’s throat. For a moment, he can’t figure out why, then he remembers- the last time he’d been in this position, his shoulder had been popped out of its socket and his chest had been sliced open by fishing wire. The stitches glow in the dark now, and Rin takes a deep breath.  
“Okay, Haru. Now.”  
Rin turns around as a blue glow fills the room along with a soft swooshing sound, like the branches of a tree blowing in the wind. He turns around just before Haru finishes his transformation, in time to see his hair lifted up from his face, eyes closed and hands cupped in front of him, holding a ball of blue fire that streams of the same color flames flow into from all over his body- and then it’s over and Rin’s face goes red as he quickly turns around again and shoves the bag of clothes at Haru.  
“What is this for?” comes the puzzled voice from behind him.  
“It’s got clothes in it.”  
“Clothes? Are those the things that you’re always covered in?”  
“Yes. Take them and put them on.”  
“Why?”  
“Because- because you can’t just walk around naked!” exclaims Rin, his face heating up even more.  
“Why not?”  
Rin recognizes the playful, biting note in Haru’s voice now- he’s been trolled. “Haru!” he complains, shaking the bag at him. “You know why! Just put them on!”  
There’s a rustling of fabric before Haru says, “I’m done.”  
Rin turns around. Wow. It’s…jarring to say the least. Haru’s upper body doesn’t look any different, but his bottom half sure does- well, obviously. He’s got…legs. They’re just normal legs, but they’re about a seventh the length of his tail, and he looks absolutely bizarre. Not in a supernatural half-fish creature way, but in a used-to-be-a-mermaid-now-looks-like-he-could-be-bagging-your-groceries way. The scales on the sides of his neck are gone too. Haru tugs at the shorts and shirt- the clothes are just the tiniest bit too big for him, but it’s subtle enough that Rin doesn’t feel the need to buy anymore.  
Haru looks a little uncomfortable, and something occurs to Rin.  
“Hey- will you be able to walk?”  
“I…I think so,” responds Haru uncertainly, taking a step forward. Rin raises an eyebrow. Haru nods more assuredly then takes another step before practically collapsing on Rin.  
“Whoa!” Rin exclaims, grabbing him by the shoulders and helping him stand again. “I guess not. Damn, there’s a lot of stairs, too…ok, just-“ he helps Haru throw his left arm around his shoulders and wraps his right arm around Haru under his armpits. Like that, they make the suddenly endless trip down the stairs and out of the room. It’s a miracle they’re able to slip through the secret passageway to the security office without one of them actually suffocating, but they manage it. The minute they get in there, Haru collapses, boneless, into the desk chair. Rin groans and rakes a hand through his hair- this is not going to be easy.  
“Okay, Haru,” he mutters, clicking on the monitors. “Do your thing.”  
Haru nods exhaustedly and raises his fingers, wrapped in more blue light, to the camera monitors and wipes them of all footage of him and Rin. Then he points to the last monitor, the one that shows the exit of the aquarium, and blue flames shoot at the screen before being absorbed. Supposedly this will wipe the footage of them escaping, but there isn’t really any way to know.  
“Ok, now add a guy walking out with a body bag.”  
More blue flames, and a man in a black hoodie toting a bag is shown leaving the aquarium.  
“Make the bag bigger.”  
Haru enlarges it- now the guy is dragging it along the ground.  
“Okay, uh, add an accomplice.”  
Another man appears hoisting the other end of the bag.  
“Perfect!” says Rin. “Now they’ll be looking for a group act instead of one perpetrator. Let’s go.”  
It takes them about twenty minutes of their three-legged-race game, but finally them make it to the car. Rin helps Haru inside and turns on the engine, at which Haru promptly starts swinging his head around with that freaking-his-shit look in his eyes.  
“Haru, relax! It’s just the car!” says Rin quickly, waving his hands at him. Once Haru’s calmed down, they set off on the twenty-five minute journey back to his house.  
“Ugh,” groaned Rin as he dumps Haru as gently as possible on the couch, which isn’t very. He’s in shape and all, but practically carrying a mermaid-turned-human for like an hour still hurts. He turns on the lamp next to the couch. Haru’s mouth opens soundlessly and he practically hurls himself over the side of the couch to look at it.  
“Haru, you’ll hurt you eyes, you shouldn’t-“ but Haru doesn’t seem bothered at all by it.  
Rin sighs and squats down next to Haru. “That’s a light bulb. Electricity goes through here-“ he runs his fingers along the cord- “and all the way up to here- then boom, light.”  
Haru nods solemnly and Rin bites his lip to keep from laughing. Not that Haru isn’t still a wonder to behold, but he’s a lot more like a confused two year old than a majestic otherworldly creature when he’s a human. They sit like that for a while, Haru staring at the light and Rin staring at him. Finally, Haru turns to him and says,  
“I’m tired.”  
“Of course you are,” says Rin, mentally hitting himself- although to be fair, how was he to know a mermaid’s sleep schedule? “Hang on a second, I’ll get you some blankets.”  
He makes a bed for Haru on the couch and is about to leave to go to his own room when Haru says, “Wait- Rin.”  
At the sound of his name on Haru’s lips, Rin turns around.  
“Stay here.” Haru is standing next to the couch clutching a pillow and looking more pitiful than anyone Rin has ever seen.  
“Sure Haru,” he says finally, his eyes softening. He grabs himself some blankets and lies down on the floor right below Haru. That’s how they fall asleep that first night- Rin cramped up on the floor, telling himself that this is what he gets for hanging out with a mermaid, and Haru above him, his hand hanging off the sofa, just barely touching the top of Rin’s head.


	6. Roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving guys! This is my present to you, although I'm not sure Thanksgiving constitutes gift-giving. Anyway, enjoy!

Rin is woken up way too early by an insistent prodding in his side. He groans and opens his eyes to see Haru standing in the watery light of the barely-risen sun.  
“Ugh…Haru?”  
“I’m hungry.”  
Rin groans again and pulls his blanket over his head.  
Haru pulls it off his head and says, more insistently, “I’m hungry.”  
More groaning. “Haru…it’s like four am…” More prodding. “Fine, fine! I’m getting up…I’m getting up…”  
Rin stumbles off to the kitchen with Haru trailing behind, looking a little concerned at Rin’s apparent inability to function.  
“You’re hungry. Okay. What do you want to eat?” asks Rin, putting one hand on his hip and the raking the other through the front of his hair.  
“Mackerel and pineapple.”  
“Is that all you eat?”  
“Why would I eat anything else?”  
Rin blinks, then smiles. “Good thing I’ve got both of those, I guess.” He opens the fridge and pulls out a flat plastic package of mackerel and a can of diced pineapple. He turns on the stove when something occurs to him. “Wait a minute…do you eat this raw?” he asks, holding up the mackerel.  
Haru shrugs. “At the aquarium I ate it cooked and it was good.”  
“All right, I’m definitely cooking it,” says Rin, turning back to the stove. In no time, the mackerel is sizzling in the pan, and Rin dumps a few pieces out onto two chipped plates before opening the pineapple and putting that on the plates as well. He brings them over to the round wooden table with napkins, chopsticks, and glasses of water. Haru watches this whole process with great interest, his head flicking back and forth to follow Rin.  
“Well, c’mon and sit down,” says Rin, pulling out his own chair and grabbing his chopsticks. Haru sits down in the other chair uncertainly, and that’s when Rin realizes-  
“Wait, how are you walking?”  
“I was practicing,” Haru replies. Practicing…? So that’s what woke him up five times last night.  
Rin laughs. “I can help you with that, y’know- provided it’s not in the middle of the night.”  
Haru looks surprised, but his face brightens just the slightest bit. He nods, lowers his hands to his plate, and before Rin can stop him, picks up a slab of fish in his hand, dangles it over his mouth, and drops the whole thing in.  
“Wh-Haru! You can’t do that!” exclaims Rin, in horror, dropping his chopsticks with a clatter. Haru looks at him, eyes bewildered and mouth bulging with fish. “Oh man. Okay, swallow that and I’ll show you what to do.” Once Haru has successfully and disturbingly quickly ingested the chewed-up mass of mackerel, Rin hands him his chopsticks. Haru takes them from him skeptically.  
“Okay, now watch what I do,” says Rin, holding up his own chopsticks. Haru rearranges his own hand so he’s holding them like Rin. Rin slowly cuts off a piece of fish with his knife and puts it in his mouth with the chopsticks; Haru copies.  
Well, at least he knows to chew with his mouth closed, Rin thinks. The kitchen is silent but for the noise of utensils against plates and chewing. Rin watches Haru’s head turning slowly, his hair and eyes flashing when they catch the light. Rin follows Haru’s gaze around the kitchen. Being a police officer pays okay, but he’d opted for a pretty small place anyway- at the time, he hadn’t been able to imagine anyone, much less a magical sea creature, living with him. There’s a low wall separating the area with the appliances in it from the area where they’re eating, and all the walls are painted a pale green color. The table is made of light brown, well-scrubbed wood- a gift from Rin’s parents. There are large windows surrounding them, and the brilliant morning sunlight is streaming through them, the breeze making the thin white curtains dance gently. Across from them is a crowded but organized desk space with neat stacks of books and papers all around it. On the wall next to it is a large mirror with a tarnished silver frame and pictures of him with his friends and family radiating outwards from it, and the well-worn wooden floorboards peek out from between various small oriental rugs. Apparently Haru approves because he lets out a satisfied huff of breath and returns to his plate.  
“Okay Haru, serious talk,” says Rin at last, putting down his chopsticks. “I have to go to work- the aquarium- in an hour, but those stupid researchers will already have been there for a while. That means people will already know that you’re missing, and that means they might come here at any moment to investigate. You can turn into a human. Can you do anything with your magic that would let you disguise yourself?”  
By way of answer, Haru closes his eyes for a moment before there’s a poof of blue smoke and a lamp with a base shaped like a blue-scaled fish tail where Haru used to be. There’s something hilarious about a powerful, graceful merman being turned into a lamp, and Rin bursts out laughing. Another poof of smoke and Haru is back with a confused frown.  
“Okay- okay, that’s perfect,” gasps Rin through his laughter, leaning back in his chair and throwing his head back with mirth. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Haru following the motion with wide, awestruck eyes and a slightly open mouth, his cheeks flushing . Rin leans forward again and grabs the table until his giggles subside. “That’s perfect Haru,” he repeats, still chuckling a little. “So whenever you hear someone at the door that isn’t me, just-“ he falters again and fights back the laughter in his throat- “just turn into a lamp, okay?”  
Haru nods, the color in his cheeks fading as he looks away.  
An hour later, Rin is dressed and standing at the door. As he opens it to leave, Haru’s head perks up. “Rin?”  
“I’m going to work, remember?” says Rin, one hand on the doorknob. “You can do whatever while I’m gone- there are some books on my desk, if you want to read them. Just remember the lamp thing, okay?”  
Haru does not look reassured.  
Rin sighs and shifts his weight to one hip. “What’s wrong, Haru?”  
Haru looks away crossly. “Don’t want you to leave,” he mumbles.  
Rin’s expression softens. “Well- I don’t really want to either, but I have to. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it. I showed you how to use the phone, so you can call me if anything goes wrong.” He hesitates for a moment, then walks over to his desk, turns on the computer, and pulls up the tracker for his phone. “See that little light?” he asks, pointing to the blinking red dot on the screen over the house. “That’s me. So you can look at this whenever you want, and you’ll always know where I am.”  
Haru leans in close to the screen and lifts up a finger to tap the dot three times in time with its blinking. Tap, tap, tap. At last he straightens up and gives Rin a resigned look. Rin smiles and walks to the door.  
“See you later,” he says, and shuts the door behind him.  
************* Total chaos. Rin knows everyone at the aquarium had been doing their best to keep Haru out of the news, but apparently this is too big to cover up. He does his best to look confused when the security guards approach his car again and asks them a lot of questions, to which he gets no answer, as they walk him to the building. The minute he walks in the door, Dr. Rosen runs up to him with literal tears in his eyes, the fucker, and tells Rin what happened. Rin thinks he manages to look appropriately shocked and horrified, but after that, there’s not really a lot he has to do to keep up the image. No one there seems to consider the idea that Rin might’ve been the one to bust Haru out, despite the fact that he practically murdered three of the researchers for his sake only days ago. Dr. Matoy tells him, with a miserable deadpan, that he should probably get down to the station and see what he can do there as he can’t really be any help at the aquarium anymore now that Haru is gone.  
The station is in a slightly more organized state of anarchy- after all, they’re the police, and this is what they’re for. Still, they’ve never had to handle a stolen mermaid case before, and are understandably uncertain about what to do. Eventually Chief Mikoshiba puts Rin on the investigative force for the case- to quote him exactly, it, “just makes sense- you knew the victim best.” They spend the rest of the day compiling a list of possible suspects, and all Rin can do the whole time is hold his breath. Somehow though, still no one brings him up. By the time he gets home, he’s almost delirious with frayed nerves, dread, and exhaustion. But home is not a source of relief for him tonight.  
An exclamation of, “Rin!” along with Haru running up and grabbing him by the shoulders with a wild look in his eyes is what greets him the minute he walks in the door.  
“Haru? What’s wrong?” he asks urgently, trying to grab his arms.  
“Water. Water. Water,” repeats Haru frantically. He is shaking.  
“Shit!” Rin slaps his hand to his forehead, then grabs Haru by the hand and runs to the bathroom with him in tow, mentally cursing himself the whole way. How could he have forgotten that Haru can only stay human for a little while? He throws himself at the foot of the bathtub and turns on the faucet. At the sound of the water tumbling out, Haru’s clothes go flying behind him and in a matter of seconds, he’s in the tub, water creeping up his bent legs. He lets out a relieved sigh, and his head falls back. As the water reaches his neck, a serene look overtakes his features, his lips parting slightly. A blue glow fills the water around him, and from the waist down, his legs begin to turn to shimmering scales. The tail grows and grows and grows, spilling over the lip of the tub and coiling all over the bathroom. When it finally stops growing, the fins tickle Rin’s legs, and he leans over to turn off the tap. He slowly and carefully moves into a sitting position with his legs bent in front of his chest, and finally everything is silent but for the dripping of water. Rin lets his head drop forward, his eyes closing. It has been such a very, very long day.  
There’s a swishing noise from the bathtub, and Rin slowly raises his head again and opens his eyes. Haru is sweeping his hand through the water and watching the little whirlpools that follow in its wake. He raises it out of the tub and stares at the water streaming off the smooth skin in rivulets. Haru turns to Rin and offers him a slight bow of the head, which Rin takes to mean “thank you”.  
“No problem,” he sighs, propping one elbow on the bathtub. Haru leans forward and holds out his hand, a ball of blue light blossoming in the center. He spreads his fingers and the light dances out to the tips before scampering back to the center and turning a deeper blue. Rin has no idea how long he sits there just watching Haru make magic, but at some point he becomes aware of the light pouring in between the slats of the dark wood blinds turning orange and diminishing. He stands with a murmured “I’ll be back” to Haru and changes out of his uniform, then puts some pineapple in a bowl and walks back. On his way to the bathroom, he notices that his computer screen is still lit up. Upon further inspection, it’s also covered in little fingerprints. Is this what he’s been doing all day long?  
He goes back to the bathroom, but stops in the doorway just before entering. Haru is sitting in an orange glow, but it isn’t a magical one. The golden light from the window spills over him, getting caught in the dips of his skin and the elegant contours of his face, which is tilted upwards with a peaceful look gracing his features. At different places, his tail gleams so brightly it’s almost white, and the air around it seems to swim with light. He is staring contently at the opposite wall, his dripping arms propped on the sides of the tub. He turns to Rin with an inquiring look. Rin feels the tips of his ears heat up slightly and he quickly straightens up and walks into the room.  
“Here,” he says, handing Haru the bowl.  
“Chopsticks?” asks Haru. Oh, right.  
“You can just eat it with your hands,” says Rin tiredly, sitting back against the tub.  
“Do you just want to sleep here tonight, then?” he asks once Haru is finished.  
“Will you?” asks Haru, handing him the bowl.  
Rin laughs and shakes his head. “Sorry, I’m sleeping in my bed.”  
“Then so am I,” says Haru decisively.  
Rin raises his eyebrows. “Well- I guess that’s okay, as long as you turn human first,” he says. Haru looks disgruntled but nods his head.  
Once he’s changed back and put on some clothes, Rin brings him to his bedroom. He turns on the lamp and pulls back the covers.  
“Go ahead,” he says to Haru. Without any hesitancy, Haru lies down then stares up at Rin expectantly. Feeling embarrassed for some reason, Rin slides under the covers on the other side and leans over to turn off the lamp.  
“Good night, Haru,” says Rin, thinking to himself how nice the heat from the other body is.  
“See you later,” replies Haru. Rin smiles to himself and closes his eyes.


	7. My, What a Nice Lamp

Haru melts into Rin’s life like candy on his tongue, and by his second week living with Rin, they have developed a routine. Get up, eat breakfast together, turn on the GPS for Haru, and the Rin is out the door with a “see you later”. When he comes home, he runs the bath water for Haru and changes out of his uniform then goes to the bathroom for the rest of the evening, getting up to bring Haru dinner in the middle. Often he’ll bring work or a book or his phone in there, but sometimes he just sits quietly with Haru or watch him do magic.

Sometimes Haru will randomly start playing with his hair; Rin isn’t quite sure what to make of this, but he doesn’t protest. There’s something simultaneously relaxing and electrifying about Haru’s elegant fingers carding slowly through his hair. The first time he does it, it’s Saturday and they’re sitting on the couch, watching TV. Well, Rin’s watching TV- Haru holds apparently no interest in television as he isn’t even looking at the screen, but he’s curled up opposite Rin on the couch nonetheless. Suddenly, Rin becomes aware of Haru moving closer and then the sensation of his fingers on his scalp, gently combing through his hair. He seems to be simply occupying his hands rather than trying to fix it, so Rin just goes with it. Maybe it’s a mermaid thing, he figures.

Haru hasn’t done anything ridiculously weird, and the investigation is getting nowhere. Everything is calm and peaceful. That’s probably why Rin isn’t too surprised when it all goes wrong.

***************************

It’s Sunday evening. Rin has left the bathroom to wash dishes, and he can hear the water splashing all over in the other room. Suddenly there’s a knock on the door. Rin turns off the sink and hurries to the bathroom, sticks his head in, whispers urgently, “Lamp!” then goes to answer the door.

“Hey, Rin!” says Makoto with a smile and a wave.

“This is Rin?” came a high-pitched, wondering voice, followed by a pair of huge magenta eyes and a puffball of yellow hair popping up behind him. “Wow! He’s so handsome. And tall. Why am I always the short one?” he asks with a pout.

“Uh…who are you?” asks Rin, confused.

“Nagisa! Sorry about him, Rin-kun,” says Rei, looking embarrassed and grabbing the shorter man by the arm.

“Rei?” he asks confusedly.

“I heard you two had met, and Rei and I were already friends, so I asked if he’d like to come visit you,” explained Makoto, then rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “And, ah, Nagisa just kind of ended up tagging along.”

“Wait a minute…” says Rin. “Nagisa?” He leans down to inspect the blonde man again, his mouth dropping open in shock. “Rin, this is your boyfriend? The astronaut?”

Rei straightens up, a defiantly proud look overtaking his face. “Yes. It is.”

Rin grins. “Well, he’s definitely energetic.”

“Thanks!” Nagisa pipes up.

“Come in guys, you don’t just have to stand there,” he says, stepping away from the door to let them in.

They all sit down at the table, and Rin goes to make tea.

“So Nagisa, I’ve got to ask- how’s space?” he calls from the other room.

Nagisa’s eyes widen with delight. “Oh wow, it was amazing, Rin-chan!”

Rin barely has time to register the –chan before Nagisa launches into an enthusiastic tirade about the mission. Over the course of almost non-stop chatter, Rin finds out that Nagisa, while rather lacking when it comes to common knowledge, is quite intelligent and passionate about space. Makoto zones out, but Rei’s gaze never leaves Nagisa once, his head propped in his hand and a small smile playing at his lips as he watches his boyfriend’s exuberant gestures. He loves him, Rin realizes with shock. It shouldn’t be shocking, really- lots of people loved each other- but sitting right here, watching it, Rin feels…strange. He wonders how that feels, love.

“…And we saw all of that just the first day!” Nagisa finishes breathlessly.

“Wow Nagisa, that sounds amazing,” says Makoto, smiling.

“It was,” says Nagisa, nodding solemnly, then opens his mouth again.

“So, how are you, Rin? How’s the investigation going?” interjects Rei quickly before Nagisa can start talking.

Rin stiffens. “Ah- not great. We haven’t found any real leads so far- whoever did it covered their footsteps very well.” He fights to keep his gaze from slipping over to the bathroom door.

“I see. You know-“ Rei stops suddenly, then looks down to study his teacup, the tips of his ears reddening. He looks up again, his glasses flashing, and bursts out, “As long as whoever took Haru isn’t harming him, I don’t think it’s such a bad thing.” He looks around quickly to see if anyone is protesting, then continues more boldly, “As an assistant to Dr. Rosen, I didn’t have much say in it, but I did express my concerns at the research methods he was using. Besides being ineffective, they were highly unethical. A creature like that doesn’t exist for us to prod and poke. He belongs in the ocean, where he came from.”

“I agree,” chimes in Makoto, uncharacteristically firmly. “I knew the moment I saw him on the docks that he doesn’t belong here.” He looks down sadly. “It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. If we’d just thrown him back right away, it would never have happened.”

They’re all quiet for a moment. They’re right, Rin realizes. Haru belongs in the ocean, not here. He should throw him back. But- Haru said he’d run away for some reason, so perhaps not. Besides…much as Rin hated to admit it, he just didn’t want to let Haru go.

“I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Nagisa announces suddenly, breaking the silence.

“Oh- sure,” says Rin, breaking out of his reverie. “Down the hall, first door on the left.”

Nagisa trots off, and Rin turns to Rei to make a comment, but suddenly a loud shout issues from the bathroom. “Rin-chan! There’s a lamp in your bathtub!”

Wh- he didn’t get out of the bathtub before transforming? Wait a minute, then-

Another shout, this one much louder and more distressed-sounding, comes out. “Rin-chan! Rin-chan, it’s the mermaid!”

Rin’s heart thuds to a stop. He leaps out of his chair and dashes to the bathroom, shoving Nagisa to the side to reveal an embarrassed-looking Haru curled up in a nearly empty bathtub, the floor around dripping wet and his tail very much still there.

Footsteps pound on the floor behind him. “No- wait! Don’t come in!” Rin tries, but it’s too late. There is a gasp of shock from Rei and an extremely high-pitched scream from Makoto before all three of them break into a chorus of yelling and questioning.

“-were you the one who-!”

“-how did you do this-?!”  
“-how was he just-?!”

“Shut up! All of you, shut up!” yells Rin, whirling around and throwing his hands up. They all fall silent and stare at him. Rin takes a deep breath. “Okay,” he says turning around to look at Haru, who is giving him an apologetic look from his big stupid blue eyes. “Yes, I was the one who took Haru from the aquarium. But please, just listen to me first. Rosen didn’t cut off Haru’s finger to study it, he cut it off because he got mad that Haru wasn’t cooperating with him.”

There’s a choked noise from Rei. “How could you possibly-“

“He can talk,” says Rin resignedly. “Haru…could you say something?”

“Something.”

More gasping. “And can you tell them for sure that Rosen cut off your finger cause he was mad?”

“He did.”

Rei shakes his head. “I-I knew he was frustrated he wasn’t having as much success with Haru as he normally does, but I didn’t think he’d resort to abuse.”

“But why was he a lamp?” interjects Nagisa.

Rin groans. He’s realizing just now how complicated the Haru situation is.

“It’s extremely complicated and involves magic-“

“Magic?!”

“But first I need you to all make me a promise!” he says loudly, holding his hands up. They fall silent. “You cannot tell anyone about this, especially not anyone involved with the aquarium or investigation. If they find out I did this, I’ll be arrested and Haru will be brought back just to endure more abuse. I know this isn’t exactly right either, but please, just promise me that, will you?”  
They nodded solemnly. Rin lets out a huff of breath. “Okay. Thanks, guys. I guess I owe you the whole story now, huh?” He glances at Haru for support. He gives him an innocent shrug. Great.

************************

It takes another half an hour, but finally Rin manages to explain everything to them and shut the door behind them with more oaths of secrecy and an exhausted sigh. Two minutes later though, there’s another knock on the door. Haru looks to Rin questioningly from the couch where he’s finally human again. Rin frowns and goes to look out the window. What did those idiots forget this time?

It’s Dr. Rosen.

“Haru!” he hisses, jumping away. “Lamp! It’s Dr. Rosen!”

An expression of pure horror dawns on Haru’s face and with a quiet poof of smoke, the lamp lies innocently where Haru was sitting.

“Okay,” Rin mutters, running over and picking him-it-whatever- up and setting it on the coffee table then stepping back to examine it. “This time, you need to stay like this, okay? You’re not in the water, so the circuits should be fine.” In the back of his mind, he wonders what he must look like, talking to a lamp. The lamp does not respond, which is probably a good thing. Rin takes a second to straighten out his shirt and tuck his hair behind his ears then opens the door.

“Dr. Rosen,” he says flatly. “What a nice surprise. How did you find out where I live?”

“Oh I just stopped by the police station and asked what’s-his-name, that nice friend of yours,” he responds genially, stepping in the door and walking over to the couch.

“Sousuke,” says Rin, then mutters under his breath, “Oh please, do come in.”

“Yes, Sousuke!” says Dr. Rosen brightly. “I was just hoping to talk to you about the whole Haru situation. I really just wanted someone to commiserate with, to tell you the truth.” He gestures to the sofa. “May I sit?”

Rin grits his teeth. “Go ahead.” He takes the chair opposite the couch and tries not to think about Haru. On the coffee table. Two feet in front of Rosen. Shit.

“I just-“ Dr. Rosen sighs, then leans back with his hands pressed to his cheeks. “I feel so horrible, you know? We should’ve had higher security on him. It’s all our fault- all my fault. I was in charge of him. I mean, who knows what’s happened to him by now?”

“Y-yeah,” responds Rin, wondering if his sweat is visible. “Hope he’s- hope he’s not in trouble or anything.”

“Yes, yes,” mutters Dr. Rosen, staring sadly out the window. “Well, you’re on the investigative team, aren’t you Rin? How is it going? Have you found any suspects yet?”

It’s not plugged in. The lamp’s not plugged in, but it’s on. Rin doesn’t think his throat’s ever been this dry in his entire life. “No, not really. It’s, uh, it’s slow going. Whoever did it was very stealthy.” Damn but that sounded stupid.”

For some reason, Dr. Rosen doesn’t look very surprised or disappointed. “That’s too bad. I hate to imagine what the thief is doing with him now.”

Feeding him pineapple and making him turn into inanimate objects, Rin thinks.. “Um, me too. I sure hope he’s okay.” Has he already said that? Oh well.

“My poor, poor Haru,” murmurs Dr. Rosen, looking out the window again. Rin stiffens. There he is with that “my Haru” again. There’s an awkward silence while Rin waits for him to be done with his little moment and prays that he doesn’t look at the outlet. Dr. Rosen turns back to Rin, then looks at the coffee table.

“My, what a nice lamp.”

Rin suppresses a series of choking noises. “Thank-thank you.”

“Huh.” Dr. Rosen leans in closer to examine it. “The base is very interesting. It reminds me of Haru’s tail.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Um, yeah,” says Rin, thinking fast. “Like you were saying, losing Haru was just so upsetting. I got this to remind me of him.”

“Did you now?” asks Dr. Rosen. Rin certainly hopes his face is the mask of calm he is attempting to maintain because the inside of his head is basically just a forest fire. “I seem to remember that you called him Haru because it was a girl’s name, like yours.”

Oh, yeah. That was the shitty excuse he’d made when his tongue slipped. “Er, yeah. That was it.”

“You seem to have a great desire to be…close to Haru,” says Dr. Rosen, his genial expression melting like candle wax into a perfect poker face. Water dripping from the sink echoes in the tense silence.

“Well,” says Rin, carefully lining his words up neatly on the table in front of him. “I’m sure you of all people can understand wanting to be closer to Haru, not to mention how frustrating it is when you fail.”

Dr. Rosen sits up quickly. “Ah, yes, yes I suppose I do understand.” He stands up suddenly and straightens out his coat. “I’d better be going now, Rin,” he says, giving him a tight smile.

“Of course,” says Rin quickly, clambering to his feet. “Real great to see you, Dr. Rosen,” he adds, following him to the door.

“You too, Rin. Well, I wish you luck with the investigation and all. Do let me know if anything turns up,” says Dr. Rosen with a jovial little wave. Rin all but slams the door behind him, then leans against it with his eyes closed and lets out a groan. There’s a light touch on his shoulder and he opens his eyes to see Haru looking gravely at him from human eyes. Rin isn’t sure what comes over him, but suddenly he surges forward and envelopes Haru in a hug, oddly relieved that he doesn’t disappear into a puff of smoke beneath his grasp. Haru stiffens in surprise, and Rin is about to let go when he feels him relax and tentatively put his arms around him. Warm, solid arms, holding him there, as if Rin would ever leave. He buries his face in the crook of Haru’s neck and breathes in his open-window scent.

Rin clears his throat in embarrassment and steps back, Haru’s touch lingering on him just a second. “I’m fine,” he says gruffly. “Sorry about that. How about you? Are you okay?”

Haru looks disappointed for some reason but he nods his head slowly.

“Okay. Good. That was a close one.” There’s a pregnant pause before Rin says, “Let’s go to bed.”

Despite his earlier affirmation of being okay, Haru shifts around in bed a lot that night.

“Haru?” asks Rin sleepily, turning to him with half-closed eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of an answer, Haru stares at him unblinkingly while edging closer and ever-so-slowly curling up so that his head rests against Rin’s chest, like he’s afraid Rin will pull away. Rin’s eyebrows lift slightly in surprise, but he doesn’t protest and simply closes his eyes all the way and relaxes. Haru’s head is a warm, comfortable weight and somehow it makes Rin feel complete in a way he’s never felt before. When the sun finds the two of them the next morning, he feels the strange and overwhelming urge to cry when he sees that Haru’s head is still there.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually don't have anything to say but I feel like it's important to leave a note, so I'll just thank you guys for all the kudos and awesome reviews! I hope you liked the chapter :-)
> 
> Also! I have a tumblr for realsies now, so you can come chat me up on trashcocoon.tumblr.com if you want. Also the page for my fics has nothing on it yet lol so don't go there. And thank you so much for one hundred kudos!!! You're the best.


	8. Naruto's Nail Polish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in case you guys didn't see, I have a tumblr now! It's trashcocoon.tumblr.com and it's rly bad, but you can come talk to me there. And the ridiculous chapter title will make sense soon, trust me. ;)

It’s fall- the leaves are curling and blushing, the investigative team is losing steam, and Haru is getting restless.

            “Oi, Haru, knock it off!” Rin says irritably, sticking his pen behind his ear and looking up from his paperwork to see that Haru has finally stopped experimenting with the sink. Rin knows it won’t be long, however, until he moves onto some other equally disruptive activity. “Okay. Know what? This is getting ridiculous. You haven’t seen anything except the inside of the house for a month and a half. We’re going out.”

            Haru gives him a questioning look. Rin puts down his work and retreats to his room to get changed, Haru following in his wake.

            “You can turn into a lamp. Can you disguise yourself as anything else?” he asks, pulling on a shirt. The minute it’s over his head, an old woman instead of Haru stands in front of him. “Gah! Okay, that’s fine. But maybe someone…around your own age? We might look weird otherwise.” In response, Haru turns into a young man with blonde hair and green eyes. “That’s better. But…do you think you could look like yourself just for me, but not anybody else? Is that possible?”

            “Why?”

            “Just because.” The truth is Rin doesn’t really know why it’s so important that he be able to see Haru, and he feels a bit silly asking. “You know what, actually it’s-“

            “I can do that,” says Haru, shifting back so that he looks the same as usual.

            “Oh,” says Rin, strangely happy. “Well, good.” He puts on a pair of jeans and grabs his keys before turning decisively to Haru. “So! Where do you want to go?”  
            Haru stares at him blankly. “Where…do I want to go?”

            “Yeah,” says Rin, swinging his key ring around on his finger. “Anyplace in particular you’d like to see? Oh, wait- you…” he trails off suddenly with the realization that Haru doesn’t actually know of any places they _could_ go. Rin grins. “Looks like I get to surprise you then.”

            The wind on the roof of the penthouse whips their hair around their faces and sends a confetti storm of russet-colored leaves floating past them. The whole city is visible below them, the people just bundles of clothes with scarves and hair unfurling from them like your grandmother’s knitting coming unraveled. Skyscrapers reach up to puncture the fluffy white clouds forming above, and the ocean glitters in the distance like a pot of sapphires. Rin turns to Haru.

            “Well?”

            Haru stares blankly back at him.

            “What do you think?” Rin prompts him.

            “What is it?”

            “It’s-“ Rin huffs with frustration and grabs Haru’s shoulders to turn him towards the view. “It’s the city.”

            Haru’s eyes widen suddenly and he stumbles back.

            “Haru? What’s wrong?” asks Rin with concern.

            “It’s big,” he says, wrapping his arms around himself. “It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen.”

            “Yeah, it’s Tokyo,” says Rin, somewhat proud. “Those-“ he points to the skyscrapers- “-are skyscrapers. They’re called that because they’re so tall that they look like they’re trying to scrape the sky.”

            “Scrape the sky…” murmurs Haru before his gaze drifts farther out- to the ocean. His eyes turn the same color as it and glimmer a little brighter with wistfulness.

            “Haru?” asks Rin tentatively.

            Haru turns back to Rin and the look disappears immediately. “I’m bored.”

            Rin sighs. “Okay, let’s go somewhere else.”

            They take the elevator down from the roof (Haru freaks out momentarily) and weave between blocks downtown until they reach the park.

            “This is the park where I usually go to run,” says Rin. Haru just stares at it blankly. Looking around himself, Rin realizes it’s not actually all that impressive. He’d been thinking about the beautiful sakura trees that bloom there in the spring, but in the middle of October, they’re just gray, skeletal things, scratching at the blue sky above.

“You know what? This is lame too. I haven’t shown you anything good yet. We’re going somewhere cool,” says Rin, grabbing Haru’s arm and dragging him away.

            He hails a taxi and gives the driver the address. Haru alternates between clinging to the seat in front of him and Rin’s arm, and Rin doesn’t blame him. Tokyo cabbies’ driving took some getting used to. When they finally arrive though, Rin knows he’s made the right decision.

            The Tokyo Dome City Attractions theme park stretches in front of them in a glorious maze of garish colors, gleaming metal, and consumerism. Haru’s jaw drops open and his eyes go almost as wide.

            “What…?”

            Rin grins happily. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

            The chilly weather has left the park far less crowded than usual, and Rin realizes that they’ll barely have to wait for anything. “Wanna try this?” he asks, pointing to the Thunder Dolphin.

            Haru eyes it warily.

            “It’s a roller coaster. You sit on it and go zooming all over. Trust me, it’s really fun,” says Rin, trying to keep the childish pleading note out of his voice.

            “It’s a dolphin?”

            “That’s just what it’s called,” explains Rin quickly.

            Haru hesitates a second longer, then nods his head.

            Rin has not been on a roller coaster in three years, and he really doesn’t remember it being this terrifying. The other people on the ride are screaming, but he’s afraid that if he opens his mouth he’ll throw up. Haru, on the other hand, looks more happy and relaxed than a single mother of three at a day spa. The minute the ride is over, Rin stumbles off it with his hand clutched to his mouth, bent over double.

            “Rin? Are you okay?” asks Haru.

            Rin takes a few deep breaths then nods quickly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine.”

            “Good. Let’s do it again.”

            Rin groans. “I’m not _that_ fine. How about a game or something? Something that won’t move if you get inside of it.”

            Haru looks disappointed, but apparently eager to explore, heads off again. Rin reflects on how apparently only cheap attractions and mass consumerism can get the tables to turn and have Haru dragging him all over the place rather than the other way around. Suddenly Haru comes to a dead stop and Rin almost smacks into him.

            “Oof- Haru! What is it?”

            Haru points his finger decisively at a booth and announces, “I want that.” Rin follows his finger to see a ridiculously huge dolphin stuffed animal dangling from the awning of the water-gun shooting booth. This is so cute that Rin has to restrain himself from pulling Haru into a bear hug. Instead, he puts some money on the counter and hands Haru a water gun. Haru frowns and attempts to hand it back to him.

            “No, you’ve got to- actually, I can try to do it for you,” says Rin, feeling more enthusiastic and taking the gun from him. He squints at the target, takes aim and shoots. Oh wow. His aim is really bad. “Ah…ha ha,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Let me just…try that again.”

            Ten minutes and about three thousand yen later, he has hit the target a grand total of four times. “Ugh!” he says in frustration. The girl behind the counter, who has been blushing furiously and attempting to brush his hand for the past ten minutes, says quickly,

            “You can just pay for it if you’d like- I can give you a discount.”

            “No,” says Rin crossly. This is no longer about the stupid toy- this is a matter of pride. “I can do it. Give me one more try.”

            Rin glared at the target. He’s a trained police officer- he should be able to hit this stupid plastic circle. This thing’s definitely rigged. “One last try…” he mutters, and fires the gun. It hits the very center of the target, which lights up and starts spewing tinny music. “Yes!” exclaims Rin, pumping his fist and turning to Haru. “Did you see that? I did it! I did it!”

            Haru’s eyes scrunch up and his mouth turns up in a smile- a real one. He lets out a little chuckle and says, “Good job,” before his eyes suddenly widen like he’s surprised himself.

            “Haru?” asks Rin uncertainly.

            Haru turns red and quickly wipes the smile off his face. “Nothing.”

            Rin shrugs and turns back to the girl to announce, “I’d like that one,” and point to the dolphin. She pulls the dolphin down off the rack and hands it to Rin, who in turn gives it to Haru. Haru solemnly takes it from him and wraps his arms around the middle, which is possibly the most adorable thing Rin has ever seen.

            They walk around the amusement park until it gets dark. Haru manages to convince Rin to go on two more rides, and somehow wins every single game he tries, which Rin accounts to pure luck because that’s just not fair. The only thing he picks is more dolphin merchandise though, and by five o’clock, both of them are laden down with dolphin key chains, plushies, and toys. When Rin asks if Haru really wants to keep all of them, Haru fixes him with a glare that seems like a pretty clear “yes”.

            “I’m tired,” says Haru eventually.

            “Wait, there’s one more thing you’ve got to see,” says Rin quickly, leading him over to a patio surrounded by restaurants with a fountain in the center. They sit there for what seems like forever, Rin shivering as the temperature drops even lower. Haru removes the jacket Rin had given him and carefully drapes it around Rin’s shoulders, which makes Rin huff in embarrassment and turn away. Finally, though, a voice comes over the loudspeakers announcing the beginning of the water symphony. Haru’s head perks up at the word “water”, and then classical music begins to play and jets of water spurt up into the air. People ooh and ah, and Haru leans forward with a wondering look in his eyes. Lights in the water begin to turn it different colors. Haru’s head moves with the motion of the water, and Rin watches him, entranced by the way his lips part and his eyes reflect the lights. Realizing his own train of thought, his heart suddenly twitches and his stomach swoops. Did he…?

            There’s no time to finish that thought, because suddenly he becomes aware that Haru is no longer sitting next to him and is climbing into the fountain, to the dismay of everyone watching.

            “Haru!” he yells, throwing off both jackets and dashing after him- but it’s too late. Haru is knee-deep in the fountain with his eyes closed in an expression of pure bliss, the geysers of water shooting up everywhere around him.

            “Haru! Haru!” yells Rin over the roaring of the fountains, splashing in after him. Staff are yelling at them and running towards them. “Haru- you have to get out, that’s not allowed, come on, we’ll be in trouble.” Haru gives him a despondent look and it comes to Rin’s attention that one: they are both completely drenched and two: he is not winning this battle.

            “They hate us now,” grumbles Rin, shivering despite his coat and Haru’s arm around him. He’d been too embarrassed to take the towels they offered, so now the coats were draped over the two of them like one big communal blanket and they have their arms wrapped around each other to conserve body heat.

            “Sorry,” says Haru, not sounding all that sorry. They’ve finally arrived back at Rin’s house, and Rin pulls off the coats to push back his wet hair and pull out his keys. Suddenly there’s a short gasp from Haru and Rin turns around to see- Rosen.

            The guy’s been visiting him nearly every day since that first time, but Haru’s always had time for his lamp trick. _He’s disguised, he’s disguised,_ Rin reminds himself, his heart thumping in his chest as Rosen comes forward.

            “Rin!” he says cheerfully. “Looks like I caught you just before you went in. Why are you all soaked? And who’s this?” he asks.

            “This is…” Rin flounders for a good two seconds. “Naruto.”

            “What?”

            Crap. No going back now. “Yeah his parents were total fanatics. He’s a friend just visiting from…Australia.”

            “Australia?”

            “I went to swimming school for a while there,” replies Rin quickly. This much is true.

            Rosen frowns. “If he’s Australian, why is his name…Naruto?”

            Rin laughs, probably a good three octaves above what it normally is. “Well, Naruto’s pretty universal, don’t you think?”

            “Yes, I absolutely agree,” says Rosen, not sounding at all like he agrees. “Nice to meet you, Naruto,” he says, extending his hand. Haru stares at it and recoils slightly.

            “Shake it,” Rin mutters out of the corner of his mouth. Haru slowly reaches out his own hand and Rosen grips it and looks down. Rin’s heart skips a beat- the nail polish. Haru’s nails are still blue.

            “I like your nail polish, Naruto,” comments Rosen, his eyes narrowing.

            Haru stiffens. “Thank you.”

            “Lovely shade…reminds me of the ocean.”

            “Yes…” says Haru helplessly.

            “So why are the two of you wet?” asks Rosen. “You’ll catch a cold in this chilly weather.”

            “We…we…fell in a lake,” says Rin, mentally kicking himself.

            “A lake?”

            “Yeah, we were at the park and…some teenagers came by on their bikes and, uh crashed into us, and, uh, we fell in. That is exactly what happened.”

            “Kids these days, always so reckless,” says Rosen, his mouth curling up.

            “Oh, absolutely,” says Rin, shivering even more than before. “Well, like you said, we don’t want to catch colds, so we should really get inside. Thanks for dropping by, though.”

            “Of course,” says Rosen, his smile widening even more but somehow still not reaching his eyes. “Enjoy your stay, Naruto.”

            Rin watches him climb into his car and drive away, then fumbles frantically at the lock and stumbles inside. Haru lets out a shaky breath, and Rin finds some relief in the fact that he’s there with him.

            That night Rin climbs into the bathtub with Haru because he needs to feel warm and he needs to feel safe, and somehow Haru makes him feel both those things along with five hundred others. Wordlessly, they both pull on sweatpants and loose shirts and climb into bed. This time, it’s Rin who curls up to Haru and falls asleep to a whispered, “see you later” and the comforting weight of his arm around him.

            Makoto arrives at seven o’clock the next morning. Rin had left a voicemail for him the night before, asking if since he works the night shift at the fire station he’d be willing to come look after Haru during the day a couple times a week. Rin knew, of course, that Haru didn’t really need taking care of, but he knew that Makoto would be even more willing to help than usual if his maternal instincts were triggered.

            “All you really have to do is make him mackerel sometime around noon and make sure he doesn’t spend the entire day looking at the GPS tracker on the computer,” Rin tells him.

            “No problem,” replies Makoto with a smile.

            “Thanks so much, Makoto,” says Rin earnestly, giving the other man a clap on the shoulder. “This means so much- the stress was pretty much killing me.”

            “I don’t mind at all,” replies Makoto, then looks towards Haru, who is lying on the couch, picking at a stray thread. “You know I’m always happy to take care of anyone who needs it.” It’s true- it’s part of why Makoto became a fireman. He doesn’t really have a strong sense of justice or any of that, but his overwhelming kindness and desire to help everyone, especially the helpless, makes him perfect for the job. It’s one of the things Rin admires most about him.

            “I do know. Thanks again,” says Rin, grabbing his phone and heading out the door with a quick, “See you later,” shouted at Haru over his shoulder.

            When he gets back from the station that night, Makoto comes up to him with an urgent look in his eyes.

            “What’s wrong?” he demands, his own eyes widening. “Is Haru okay?”

“He’s fine, he’s fine,” Makoto reassures him. “But did you know he was such a good artist?”

“What?” asks Rin, confused. “Artist? Let me see.”

He pushes past Makoto into the living room, where Haru is sprawled on the floor, surrounded by papers covered in drawings. Rin bends down to pick one up, and his eyes widen. It’s just the bed that they sleep in, but the lines are perfect and the proportions are flawless. Every wrinkle and fold in the bundled-up blanket is drawn in exact detail, and there are at least twenty more done just as well around it.

“Haru…” Rin breathes, looking at him. Haru glances up with a questioning look. “These are amazing.” Haru just shrugs and goes back to the one he’s working on, but Rin remains in awe.

After Makoto has left that night and Haru is the bathtub, Rin piles them up neatly and takes them into the bedroom. He studies his bare walls, and then, after a brief moment of hesitation, tapes up a couple of his favorites and puts the rest in the top drawer of his dresser.

He goes back to the kitchen to get some pineapple for Haru, but something draws him back to the living room. He studies the floor where Haru had been laying, then notices something sticking out from under the carpet. He lifts up a corner of it and stifles a gasp. More drawings, three times as many as had been there when he came home, every last one of Rin.

He picks up a couple to inspect them. They’re just as perfect as the others, but something seems different about them, almost like the artist had been more careful with them. There are some of him just sitting down or with his head bent over a desk, but most are of him smiling- his eyes scrunched up, his lips pulled wide, his head thrown back with laughter- a lot with him laughing, his cheeks full of color and his neck strong and exposed.

He puts them down then picks up another that catches his eye. Almost involuntarily, he brings his hand to his mouth. It’s him and Haru, their heads inches away from each other with their hands clasped together, the edges of the paper lined with flowers dropping petals over the entire scene.

Rin’s heart hammers and he thinks back to the amusement park, to seeing Haru and to the thought he hadn’t finished. His stomach and face feel warm and he feels slightly faint. Slowly, he puts the paper back down again under the carpet and rearranges all the drawings so they’re more or less how he found them. He must still have a funny look on his face when he comes back to the bathroom, because Haru’s gaze follows him, his brow slightly furrowed. Wordlessly, Rin hands him the pineapple and commences staring straight ahead.

That night when Haru curls into him, it feels different- delicate and incredibly intimate, and Rin doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know how he feels, or how to handle himself- or Haru for that matter. But every other night he has put an arm around Haru and let their breathing fall into sync, so he does it again, just the same. But it’s not. It’s not the same, and somehow Rin knows, it won’t be for a very long time.


	9. Wrapped in Stardust

The next morning, Rin searches Haru for…he’s not actually sure what he’s searching for. Blushing? Heart eyes? A boner? Do mermaids get those? Either way, apparently he’s being conspicuous enough about it to incite Haru’s concern because as soon as Makoto knocks on the door, Haru steps in front of it and sticks his face right up in Rin’s and stares at him, his eyebrows drawn together. Rin gulps and tries not to think about how he can feel Haru’s breath, how he can count every eyelash, how they’re as close now as they were in the drawing.

            “Haru, I need to answer the door,” he says, attempting to sidestep him.

Haru follows. “Weird,” he says.

            “Huh?”

            “You’re acting weird.”

            “What do you-?! I am not!” says Rin, frustrated as well as sure that his face is completely red.

            “You are,” counters Haru flatly.

            “Haru, Makoto’s waiting,” he says, straining to get past again. This time Haru lets him, and with great relief Rin opens the door.

            “Hi, Rin- whoa, are you okay?” asks Makoto, frowning.

            “I’m fine! Geez, why do people keep asking me this?” grumbles Rin, stepping back to let him in as Haru skulks back to the living room and flops down on the couch.

            “W-well, your face is all red,” says Makoto, looking a little nervous. Dammit.

            “I just…nothing. I’m fine. Hey-“ he leans in a little closer, feeling sort of guilty talking behind Haru’s back like this- but he has to know- “Did Haru say anything about…me yesterday?”

            Makoto laughs. “It’s funny you should ask- Haru’s not really a talker, but when he did talk, it was always about you.”

            Rin’s stomach lurches and he fights to maintain a composed face. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

            “Well, I’d ask him how he was doing and he’d tell me about the prizes you won him at the amusement park. Or he’d look upset and I’d ask what was wrong and he wouldn’t reply, just get up and check the computer to see where you were. At one point he got really upset and when I finally got out of him what was wrong it was that you’d left your hat here.”

            Rin feels all the warmth in his face flood into his chest and glances to where Haru is still sitting on the couch with his legs pulled to his chest, staring intently out the window. Can all that really be true? He never acts that way around Rin- perhaps it’s that motherly, trustworthy vibe Makoto gives off.

            “Well, thanks for that Makoto,” says Rin, not really sure what he’s thanking him for but certain from the confused look on Makoto’s face that he’s stopped making sense a while ago. “Anyway, I’d better be going. Thanks again, and um, let me know if anything…happens.”

            Makoto now looks concerned in addition to confused, and Rin hurriedly slams out the door, hoping the tips of his ears aren’t red too. Dammit, he _is_ acting weird. He’s _never_ this awkward normally- that stupid picture is totally messing him up. He spends the entire drive to the station cursing Haru, himself, Rosen, and the other drivers both mentally and out loud. The minute he walks in, however, all thoughts of this fly out of his head as Sousuke strides up to him purposefully.

            “Sousuke? Oi! What’s wrong?” he asks as Sousuke grabs him by the arm and steers him into the office.

            “We’ve got a new lead, and it’s a pretty strong one.”

            Rin’s stomach lurches. Could it be-? “What is it?” he asks carefully. “Why are you being so weird?”

            Sousuke sits down at the table and Rin sits across from him. “Two new suspects,” says Sousuke, then glances at the door as if he doesn’t want the other officers to hear. “They’ve been brought in for minor stuff before, so this would be a real step up for them- or down, however you want to look at it,” he adds with a snort.

            “Get to the point, Sousuke,” says Rin impatiently.

            “Okay. I don’t think you’ve ever dealt with them before, but their names are Aiichiro Nitori and…Momotarou Mikoshiba.”

            “Mikoshiba?” Rin frowns, then his eyes widen. “Wait a minute…he’s not related to the chief, is he?”

            Sousuke nods gravely. “His younger brother. Those two have never been the most high-profile criminals. It’s all been minor stuff- graffiti, dealing, the occasional shoplift, but never more than forty dollars. I can’t think of a motive for them to have kidnapped Haru other than that they’re reckless kids who love a thrill, but when we questioned them, they didn’t have an alibi. That could’ve been resolved, but…when we tried to bring them in for further examination, they resisted and got away. No clue where they are now- the chief is completely off his rocker, though. That’s why we’re trying to be subtle about it.”

            “Off his rocker?” Rin asks, raising an eyebrow.

            “An ugly mixture of pissed off at, worried about, and embarrassed for his brother,” Sousuke explains, sitting forward and opening the file sitting on the table between them. “And the running away isn’t the only thing. We found these.”

            A grainy picture from what looks like the inside of a club is focused on a mop of orange hair leaning into a tidier silver one. Their black leather jackets catch the colorful club lights and each of them has an arm outstretched, a bottle held loosely in each boy’s hand.

            “That’s them. It was taken at the Iwatobi Club at twelve thirty-four, which is only five miles away from the aquarium.”

            “That’s only a few minutes before we think Haru was kidnapped,” Rin adds.

            “Right,” continues Sousuke. “ _And-_ “ This time he reaches under the table and pulls out a plastic evidence bag where something shiny glints from inside. “We found this wallet chain just outside the back exit of the aquarium. If you look at the picture, Mikoshiba-“ They both wince at the familiar name- “is wearing a similar one. In addition to that, we know from the footage that it was two people, and we’ve never brought in just one of them at a time. They’re a group act.”

            Rin resists the urge to grin- he knew adding another person would be a good idea.

            “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go find them,” he says, moving to stand up. Sousuke remains seated, staring blankly at the table in front of him. “Sousuke?”

            “I don’t know, Rin…it just feels wrong. Why the hell would they try to kidnap a mermaid? They’re just kids, and all their crimes up until now have just been typical kid stuff. It just doesn’t fit with their track record.”

            A wave of guilt rises in Rin’s throat. Not only are they going to be causing trouble for these kids- one of whom is the chief’s own brother- but he’s lying to his best friend right to his face. Sousuke’s frustrated expression seems to bounce off the ugly cinder walls right back into Rin’s face, and Rin clenches his teeth together to prevent everything from flowing over his lips and into the filthy silence between them. _Haru,_ he thinks. He thinks of Haru’s blue eyes and strong spirit and magic hands and his drawings- his draw _ing_ \- and manages to stand firm, just barely.

            “Look, we’ve had _no_ good leads up until now. Thirteen innocent suspects, Sousuke. We tried all of them, no matter how unlikely they were to be the culprits. We can at least question two dumb kids. They’re the best lead we’ve gotten so far, and if they’re innocent, well then, that’s that. We let ‘em go and try again. But we have to at least try.”

            Sousuke looks up. “Right. Obviously. I’m not an idiot Rin,” he adds, the teasing note back in his voice. He stands up. “Let’s get started.”

            They spend all the rest of that day questioning everyone with the slightest connection to Nitori and Mikoshiba, barely even stopping for lunch. The conversation with the chief is especially painful- their normally boisterous, cheerful leader looks ashamed and sad and doesn’t look up from the floor once when they ask him about his brother’s past. Despite there being new suspects to take attention away from Rin, the whole ordeal has left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach and he just barely grunts a tired goodbye to Sousuke at the end of the day.

            Haru seems different somehow when Rin gets home that day. Instead of lazing around in the bathtub while Rin does housework, he clings to Rin’s side like Velcro and even offers to help. Rin wonders if this has something to do with what he’d been talking to Makoto before he’d left that day, but decides to just take it in his stride.

            Rin moves to hand Haru another plate to dry but stops when he sees that Haru is still holding the previous one.

            “Haru?” he asks, putting the plate back in the sink and turning to him. “What’s up? You’re being weird,” he says, conscious of the fact that he hasn’t exactly been his usual self lately either.

            “I want to go to the ocean,” says Haru quietly, not looking up from the plate in his hands.

            Rin’s head feels heavier somehow. “You…want to go home?”

            Haru looked up and shook his head violently. “No, that’s wrong. I’m already- I want to _swim_ in the ocean.”

            Rin wonders what the ‘I’m already’ had been leading up to, but his feeling of relief pushes it away. Why is he so relieved, anyway? What is it to him if Haru wants to go…home? He knows, of course, why he doesn’t want Haru to leave. He knows, but he won’t tell himself that. He doesn’t need that right now.

            “Well…” he says slowly, drying his hands on a towel. “It’s dark and almost winter, so probably no one will be there…and if you disguise yourself to other people…ah, what the hell. Let’s go,” he says decisively, hanging the towel back up and heading to the bedroom. He knows it’s going to be freezing cold, but he’s done polar bear swims before and every part of him is itching to be in the water with Haru, so he pulls on his jammers and then a pair of sweatpants over them.

            The drive to the beach is a quiet one. Most of their silences are comfortable- they have to be, considering how frequent they are- but somehow this one feels different, apprehensive and uncertain and fraught with tension, and…exciting. He looks over at Haru once or twice and catches him quickly looking away, his hair flashing silver. He’s not sure how, but somehow he knows something is going to happen tonight.

            For late November, it’s a fairly warm night with no wind or clouds whatsoever. The stars decorate the night sky like patches of glittering baby’s breath, and the light of the full moon picks out lace and diamonds on the water’s surface. Rin looks away as Haru takes off his clothes, then back again when he hears a splash. Normally seeing Haru swimming in that graceful way of his, his tail streaming out behind him so beautifully, every part of him something otherworldly, would bring a smile to Rin’s face, but tonight all it makes him feel is something warm and aching in his chest, like it’s pulling him towards something he can’t- shouldn’t- have.

            He pulls off his sweats, coat, and shirt, and immediately the cold air hits him. Before he can think about it too much, he dives into the water and immediately feels all the breath leave him. His head breaks the surface and he gasps for air, his whole body racked with shivers. The night air on his wet skin just makes him colder though, so he dives back under and moves around to thaw out his blood.  Haru swims up to him with a mixture of concern and impatience, and Rin gives him a shivery, _hang on a second_ gesture and does a few more strokes. Gradually, feeling reenters his digits and he begins to enjoy the feeling of the water around him, a gentle neutral force pushing him up and pulling him down. He opens his eyes to see the fuzzy image of Haru staring back at him through the dark water. A hand enters his field of vision and touches just between his eyebrows and suddenly he can see Haru staring at him with wonder in his eyes and his tail floating out behind him. There’s a cool touch on his chest and suddenly Rin can breathe, he can breathe underwater, this is not good, this is not normal, he almost chokes on nothing, but Haru grabs his face and makes exaggerated breathing motions, which Rin imitates. He feels his pulse slow and gets more used to it.

            Once Haru sees this, he wraps a hand around Rin’s wrist and pulls him forward. Rin can’t hear him, but he can see his lips form the words, “Now it’s my turn to show you a sight you’ve never seen before.”

            There’s a thrill in his stomach, a thrill he’s never felt before, because this is the ocean, this is a world he’s never seen before, and Haru’s going to show all of it to him. They shoot off into the depths together, tail and limbs weaving over and under each other like they’ve done this their whole lives, and even when he’s not in his field of vision, Rin can feel Haru’s energy and his own pulses in time with it. Their hearts beat together and it’s the middle of the night and he’s breathing underwater and Rin feels so alive he wants to cry. Suddenly something bright yellow darts in front of him. He follows the little yellow fish with his eyes and suddenly another school, a huge one, of glittering silver fish appears, and Haru pulls him into the middle of it. The fish swirl around them like a glittering tornado and their hair whips into their face faster and faster until the fish suddenly break apart to make room for three sleek thundercloud-gray dolphins who surround them, chattering excitedly. Haru and Rin follow them as they swim off, but they shoot away too quickly when a huge pink thing floats in front of them- an octopus, covered in huge pick suckers, its eyes looking at Haru just a second longer than Rin before turning around and gesturing for them to follow, which they do until they reach-

            A coral reef. The whole thing moves and breathes, and Rin knows each and every part of it _is_ breathing. Brilliant pinks and yellows and blues curl and heave and undulate, doling out fish, sharks, tiny crabs and snails, everything, and Rin swears he can hear the ocean singing. Haru brings him to the bottom of it where Rin resists a gasp, because a shark is floating there- but to his surprise, it comes up and nuzzles at his arm. Haru nods at him, and hesitantly, Rin puts out a hand and strokes its head. He shakes his head in disbelief that this is really happening, his hand is on the head of a shark, and suddenly he bursts into laughter that somehow isn’t whisked away by the water around them, the sound reverberating inside silver bubbles that float up towards the surface. Haru stares at him, his eyes wider than they’ve ever been, and something shimmers in their sapphire depths for just a second, unreadable yet clear as day. Suddenly he grabs Rin’s arm and they’re off again, to the other side of the reef where there is a turtle- a huge turtle, at least one and a half times the size of Rin- waiting, for them apparently, because when they arrive he looks up and blinks at them with eyes that have seen a thousand waters, and Haru bows his head in respect, which Rin quickly follows. The turtle nods at them, and Haru perches on his smooth marbled shell, then motions for Rin to do the same. Once Rin has uncertainly situated himself on the shell, the turtle takes off, bringing them close to the surface, so close that they can see the stars, which look like they’re melting and dancing over the royal blue waves, casting a glowing light over them. Rin stares up at them wide-eyed.

How can he never have seen this before? How can he never have seen this side of the world, this shade of life? Then he looks at Haru, and Haru looks back and Rin knows. He knows why he’s never seen it before, and he knows what Haru is thinking, and he wants Haru to know that he knows. Haru leans over and murmurs something in the turtle’s ear, who slowly descends again and leaves them back on the smooth ocean floor.

Rin doesn’t need to look at Haru to know they’re going back. They start off again, their bodies not quite touching, just moving around and between each other in perfect harmony. Of all the things he’s felt that night, the most amazing one is this- swimming with Haru, who’s not looking at him with his eyes but with every movement of his arms and tail.

They reach the shore, and Haru touches Rin’s forehead and chest again, and from those points, Rin feels his body heat up and dry out, like someone has just placed a warm towel over him. He lies down on the soft sand and looks away as Haru transforms and puts his clothes back on. He looks up to see Haru in a loose pair of pants with the moonlight still shimmering off the water on his back, walking towards him before sitting down next to him in the sand. Neither of them says anything until finally Rin tells him,

“Thank you. That was…thank you. I want to do it again. Forever. Again and then forever.”

Haru stares at him with that unreadable look in his eyes again then nods. He lifts his hands to the moon above and golden light flickers over them until a glowing replica of the shark swims around in the air above them. Rin sits up and gazes in awe as it glides around their heads. Soon it is joined by the turtle, the octopus, the dolphins, and all the fish they saw. Rin stares at Haru glowing in the light of his own magic as more and more light spills over his hands and fingertips and explodes silently into the night sky above them, making a rainbow of animals and flowers and swirls and other indecipherable shapes, the stars shining through them all. The air around them seems to sing softly and Rin feels like he and Haru are at the center of the universe, all of it moving with them, for them. He looks at Haru, dazed. This time they are both silent and instead just stare into each other’s eyes- not confused, not uncomfortable, but in perfect understanding. Two equals, knowing and feeling the same aura. Perfect, synchronized, at peace. Dance partners moving in flawless rhythm.

They feel it at the same time, their bodies and souls moving rather than their minds, every part of them screaming yes, and when their lips touch, Rin’s heart beats twice as loudly as usual, and the lights spectacle above him is joined by the one in his head. Nothing has ever felt so good, so right. He and Haru move together, their arms coming to wrap around each other at the exact same time, not looking, just knowing. Haru’s lips are waves crashing against his own, and a shiver runs down his spine when Haru’s teeth graze his lower lip.

Who knows how long they lie there in the sand, finding each other over and over again, letting the world just stand still for them. But Rin knows that when they get back to the house and lie down in bed together, no one will ever fit so perfectly in that spot as Haru does, and they both fall asleep almost instantly, still wrapped in each other, still wrapped in stardust.

_See you later._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for. I actually had so much fun writing it, so I hope you guys liked reading it ;-) Tumblr is trashcocoon, and I will update again next week!


	10. And to All a Good Night

The morning is sunny and clear. Haru’s arms are wrapped around Rin, Rin’s hand resting on Haru’s hip. It was real. It really happened. Rin feels dizzy looking down at Haru- asleep and messy, his black hair tangled and his mouth slightly open. Dizzy with euphoria. It was real. It is real. It’s real. Oh shit, it’s real. He and Haru hooked up. No, that’s vulgar. Well, it’s also true. But- oh shit.

            And then Haru wakes up and looks at him with bleary but happy blue eyes and puts a hand on his cheek- no hesitation, no uncertainty- just puts it there like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and maybe it is, and Rin lets Haru pull him down for a kiss and knows they’re going to be okay.

            It’s a good thing Makoto doesn’t come today, because Rin ends up being very late for work.

***********************

            A few weeks later, they’re walking home from the grocery store and Rin feels it- a snowflake, the first one of the year. He looks up to see thousands more fluttering past in its wake, then turns to Haru, who is looking up with a mixture of wonder and fear. Rin laughs and puts down his grocery bag.

            “It’s snow, Haru!” he exclaims happily, grabbing the other man’s hand and pulling off his glove to hold it to up to the sky, palm open. A couple flakes land on his hand and Haru makes a little gasp of surprise and turns to Rin, wide-eyed.

            “It’s cold.”

            “Yeah!” says Rin excitedly. “Water evaporates from down here, then it turns into clouds and if it’s the right temperature, it snows!”  
            Only one word seems to register with Haru. “This is…water?”  
            “Well, yes, technically, but-“  
            “Can I swim in it?”

            Rin laughs. “Not really, but when there’s enough we can play in it.”  
            “When will there be enough?” demands Haru urgently.

            “Probably by this evening, but-“  
            “You’ll come play with me in it, right?”

            “Yes of course, I-“

            Haru retrieves his glove, puts it back on, and grabs Rin’s hand firmly to start pulling him back towards the house.

            “Gah- Haru!” exclaims Rin. “What are you doing?”  
            “We have to go back now so we can eat and go out as soon as there’s enough to play in.”  
            Rin reluctantly allows Haru to drag him all the way home and even complies when Haru insists that he make dinner right now right this second immediately. Every two seconds, Haru looks out the window, then back at Rin as if to ask, “Is there enough now?” For three hours there really isn’t, but apparently making out is a suitable way to pass the time until there is, so Rin doesn’t complain. But finally, around five thirty when it’s completely dark outside and a little less than a foot lies on the ground, he tells Haru that yes, they can go play now.

            “Haru- wait!” Rin yells as Haru jumps up and runs to the door. He turns to Rin, who’s holding out a pair of snow pants and a coat. “You have to wear these, you’ll get soaked.”

            Haru stares at him uncomprehendingly. “I know.”

            Realizing he should’ve seen this coming, Rin concedes on the point of the snow pants but does make him put on the coat, gloves, and a hat. Haru dashes out the door with Rin in his wake. He pauses to lock the door, and when he looks back to Haru, he’s standing in the middle of the street with his eyes up to the moon, his hair and the snowflakes glowing silvery-blue around him. Rin smiles softly at the sight.

Haru turns to him before his gaze drops to the ground where their feet have left big, neat prints all through the soft, newly fallen snow. Slowly, he bends down and carefully lets his hand sink into the deep snow then takes it away to observe the print. An idea popping into his head, Rin quietly scoops up some snow, packs it into a ball, then throws it right at Haru’s shoulder. Haru looks up in shock and confusion, back and forth between Rin and his shoulder, until finally he realizes what has happened.

His eyes narrow determinedly, and he picks up some snow to pack it into a clumsy mass and toss it at Rin. Rin lets out a laugh and runs into the street to throw more snow at Haru, who quickly rises to the challenge. They trip awkwardly over their own feet in the thick snow, not even bothering to pack it into balls anymore but just tossing it at each other’s heads. Rin comes up behind Haru and claps a handful of snow on the back of his neck. Haru’s mouth falls open with shock from the cold and turns around to push Rin into the snow. Laughing loudly, Rin pulls Haru down with him. He looks up at Haru affectionately, whose cheeks are red from the cold and mouth is curved up in a playful little smile and leans forward to brush their lips together.

“Wait! I have an idea!” exclaims Rin, struggling to his feet and grabbing Haru’s hand. “If you like snow, you’re going to love ice.”

“Ice?” asks Haru confusedly.

“You’ll see,” smiles Rin, pulling Haru to his side and wrapping an arm around his waist.

After a good thirty minutes of trudging through the heavy snow, they finally reach their destination- the park, with a full view of the lake, completely frozen over. Apparently the snow has put a lot of people in the mood for ice-skating because there are people sliding all over it already. Haru stares in bewilderment.

“C’mon!” says Rin, pulling him over to the rental station.

Helping Haru to his feet in the skates is funny enough. Watching him attempt to wobble over the ground on the thin blades practically has Rin in fits.

“Stop laughing!” scowls Haru. “I don’t even know what we’re doing.”

“Okay, okay, just come on. We’re here now,” says Rin, carefully leading Haru onto the ice. Haru’s eyes widen at the sudden change in surface texture and Rin grips his arm a little tighter. “You okay?”

Haru nods in determination and starts scooting tentatively over the ice. “You said…this is water?” he asks in confusion.

“Yes, it’s frozen,” replies Rin.

“…Frozen?”  
            Rin realizes suddenly that he can’t actually explain the concept of something being frozen, so he just says, “It’s water but solid. And people like to go skating on it- that’s what we’re doing right now.”  
            “Skating,” Haru mutters, staring at his feet in concentration. He is still gripping the wall.

“Here- I’ve got you,” says Rin, reaching for Haru’s wrist. Once he sees that Haru’s okay with it, he pulls it away from the wall, and, holding both his hands in his own, slowly skates out towards the middle of the lake. Haru is extremely shaky at first and keeps looking down like he expects the skates to suddenly break on him, but eventually, he manages to stand up straight and let go of Rin’s hands. Within minutes, he’s gliding over the ice like he’s been doing it his whole life and giving Rin irritated glances for not being able to keep up with _him._

“Need some help?” he asks when Rin stumbles slightly, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“I’m _fine,_ ” Rin growls, pushing forward again.

In the end, Rin ends up having to drag Haru home, but before they walk in the door, Haru gently brushes at Rin’s eyelashes, saying, “There were snowflakes caught there,” at which Rin grabs the back of his neck and pulls him closer for a kiss.

They are, of course, soaked and shivering and end up both needing a very hot bath, but neither of them is really complaining.

************************

            “Rin, what’s Christmas?”

            “Hm?” Rin asks. He’s busy approving some pamphlets for Nitori and Mikoshiba (actually, he’s nitpicking and stalling so they can follow this lead for as long as possible before realizing it’s a dead end). Haru is playing with the soap suds in the sink and looking quizzically at him. Rin frowns. “Christmas? Where did you learn about Christmas?”

“Makoto was talking about it two days ago. He said that you might get me something for it.”  
            Rin actually hasn’t gotten Haru anything, but it occurs to him now that he probably should. “Christmas is a holiday- like a day when people get together and celebrate. There’s food, and decorations, and this big tree…” Rin trails off. He’s not sure whether or not he should try to explain the religious significance of it, but decides to bypass that.

It’s Haru’s turn to frown in confusion. “A tree?”

It suddenly hits Rin that he hasn’t actually had a Christmas tree since college. The confusion on Haru’s face is also bringing him to new realization that the concept of cutting down a tree and just sticking it in your house for a week or two is actually kind of weird. “Yeah, a Christmas tree. You know, Christmas is actually a pretty cool part of this world, and-“ He stops mid-sentence as a figurative light bulb goes off over his head. “Hey, we should celebrate it with everyone!”

Haru looks dubious. “Celebrate?”

“I can explain it more later,” says Rin, waving his hand impatiently. “We can have Makoto and Rei and Nagisa over…and we can get them to promise not to use your name so we can have Gou and Sousuke, too, as long as you disguise yourself! I don’t think anyone except Rei and Nagisa have anyone to spend it with, and it would be really fun!”

Haru looks thoroughly overwhelmed, and Rin catches himself enough to say, “I mean, I can have Makoto explain it to you, and we can kick them all out early if it gets to be too much for you. But I think you’d like Christmas- honest, I do. We can get presents and watch a movie and all that good stuff.”

“A movie?” asks Haru. Rin can see him slowly warming to the idea. He _has_ become quite fond of movies- probably because it’s a bunch of other people doing the talking for an hour and a half. He drops his eyes to the ground and reluctantly says, “I guess it’s okay.”  
            “I knew you’d say yes!” Rin beams happily and strides over to the sink to peck Haru on the lips and then hurry off again to make plans. He can feel Haru’s amused eyes on his back, but chooses to ignore it and picks up the phone.

“Makoto? Yeah, hey. So are you doing anything for Christmas or what?”

*********************

Christmas begins with Haru refusing to get out of bed for twenty minutes, which segues into him insisting that they lie in the snow for about two hours while he is in his mermaid form with a winter coat and mittens on, which has got to be the strangest thing Rin has ever seen. After finally succeeding in reassuring Haru that yes, they will go to the ocean sometime very soon, he lets him skulk off to the bathtub for the next two hours. Rin’s not sure if it’s a coping mechanism in preparation for the large mass of humans who will soon be arriving and wanting to interact with him, or if he is genuinely missing the water that much.

Either way, he has much more immediate things to deal with, the first of which being that he is about to have five people over to a house that he has not cleaned for about three months. He contemplates the mess before him- clutter that crowds up against the walls and in the corners for the purpose of at least keeping the center of the floor clear. This is going to take hours.

It is indeed hours later when Rin is finally satisfied with the state of the lower floor of his house (no one’s going to see the upper floor, and that’s a tier of hell he’s not willing to deal with today). Three hours, actually, to be exact. And in all that time, Haru has not come out of the bathroom once. This in itself is not particularly surprising- he’s spent much longer there before- but he’s never gone this long without some form of contact with Rin. If he hasn’t come to bathroom in more than forty-five minutes, Haru usually yells his name impatiently, but in all this time there’s only been silence- not even the splashing of the water.

“Haru?” says Rin, poking his head in hesitantly. “Hey, you should come out now. How long’s it been since you’ve eaten?”  
            Haru stares listlessly at the wall. “What are we going to tell them?”  
            Rin frowns. “What? Tell who?”

“The guests. What are you going to say about the two of us?”  
            “Well, they all already know I’m gay, so I figured I’d just tell them.”  
            Haru turns to him with surprise. “You’d…just tell them?”

“Unless you don’t want me to,” says Rin quickly.

“No, it’s fine,” says Haru in his usual monotone, but his expression seems brighter. With a blue glow, his tail shrinks and separates into legs, and he climbs out of the tub. “I want lunch.”

Rin blinks in surprise, but decides that if Haru is feeling better, he’s not going to question it.

*****************************

The first person to arrive is Makoto, with presents for both of them. Rin feels bad since he hadn’t really gotten presents for anybody, but as usual, Makoto acts like he doesn’t mind in the slightest (actually, he probably doesn’t). Then Rei and Nagisa sweep in with their usual gust of contrasting energies, wearing matching, horrible Christmas sweaters that were very clearly _not_ Rei’s idea. Sousuke and Gou show up together, and Rin glares at the two of them until Gou reassures him no, nothing is going on. There’s a moment of tension in the room when Rin introduces Haru as his boyfriend Eito- he’d explained to Nagisa, Rei, and Makoto that they were to call him that for the night and act as if they’d never met him. It shouldn’t be that hard, as he looks like the blonde-haired boy to everyone else tonight.

Oh yeah, and he’d told them that they were dating. Makoto’s reaction was supportive and sweet, Rei’s was upright and dignified, and Nagisa’s was deafening. Gou has a similar reaction to his, although at a slightly lower volume (thank God). Sousuke gives Haru a once-over and a slight flare of the nostrils but doesn’t say anything other than, ‘nice to meet you’, for which Rin is extremely grateful.

“Let’s get this party started!” yells Nagisa enthusiastically, and that’s when Rin realizes how poorly prepared he is. Yes he’s cleaned and decorated the entire ground floor- tree and all- and yes he’s ordered food (there’s no way he’s _cooking_ that much for seven people)- but he hasn’t really thought about what they’re going to do.

“Yeah! Okay,” he says, stalling for time. “Yeah, let’s do this! So, um, what do you guys…ah…”

“Rin-chan, your tree doesn’t have anything on it!” interrupts Nagisa, running over to it.

“Oh- yeah,” says Rin, hurrying over. “I didn’t really have time to put anything on it- actually, I don’t really have anything. But doesn’t it look nice?”

Nagisa pouts. “Not without decorations! That’s the whole point of a Christmas tree.”

“It totally is, onii-chan,” chimes in Gou. “You mean you don’t have _anything?_ ”

Rin is beginning to feel really stupid when Makoto, as usual, saves the day. “Hey, I have an idea! We can _make_ decorations for the tree.”

Nagisa lets out an excited gasp. “That’s such a good idea, Makoto-chan!”

“What can we make?” asks Sousuke skeptically.

“Popcorn strings!” exclaims Rin excitedly, warming up to the idea now. “And- and paper snowflakes and stuff. I have wire so we can make ornaments!”

“And we can use these for lights!” cries Nagisa happily, grabbing Rei by the electric Christmas-light necklace he has no doubt been forced to wear.

“Yes, please, let’s get these off,” says Rei.

Rin hurries to the kitchen and grabs popcorn, paper, and wire, and tosses them onto the table. Everyone gathers around it, chatting excitedly, and he takes the opportunity to subtly put on a station he’d found that plays Christmas music. Within a few minutes, everyone is laughing and happily making paper snowflakes to the tune of Jingle Bell Rock.

“Rin, how do you do this?” asks Haru, leaning over to him with a piece of popcorn and needle and thread.

“Let me show you,” says Rin, holding Haru’s hands in his own and carefully guiding them to string the popcorn on.

“Aw, look at the lovebirds!” calls Gou affectionately from the other end of the table.

“Get a room, you two,” mutters Sousuke.

“Oi, shut up!” exclaims Rin, quickly dropping Haru’s hands. Haru rolls his eyes and continues to string popcorn on.

The food finally arrives and everyone crowds around, trying to stick their hands in to get some.

“Back off, you guys!” yells Rin, clearing a space on the table and laying everything out. “Come get a plate, get your food, and then get _far away_ from the decorations.”

Finally, everybody gets some food, and as Rin is avoiding looking at the nauseating spectacle of Nagisa feeding Rei, Haru comes up to him with an upset look on his face.

“Haru? What’s wrong?” he asks around a mouthful of chicken.

“There’s no mackerel,” Haru replies in a low voice.

“Oh! Actually there is,” says Rin, hurrying over to the fridge and grabbing the mackerel he’d cooked beforehand from it. “And-“ he pauses for a moment to rustle through the drawers some more before emerging with a small Tupperware container. “Pineapple!”

Haru stares at him for a moment then lunges forward unexpectedly to place a kiss on his lips then grab the food and slink off, leaving Rin blinking in surprise, rooted to the floor.

“Y-you’re welcome!” he calls after Haru, then shakes his own head at himself. Why can’t he ever just be cool and normal?

“Hey, great party and all, but do you have any dessert? I’m craving sugar,” says Sousuke, coming up to him. Rin slaps a hand to his forehead.

“Shit! I didn’t even think about that- wait a minute, we could _make_ dessert! I have ingredients for cookies, everyone loves Christmas cookies!”

“Really getting into the DIY spirit here, aren’t we?” asks Sousuke, but his eyes are playful.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” says Rin, then shoves his plate into his friend’s hands so he can clap and say, “Listen up, everyone! I kind of- ah- _misplaced_ the dessert I had beforehand, so we’re gonna make cookies!”

Nagisa cheers and drags Rei over to the oven. Soon they’re all crowded into a kitchen that’s really way too small for this, but Rin finds himself having fun. Like, a _lot_ of fun. He hasn’t had this many people over in ages- actually, he hasn’t had a Christmas in ages.

“Remember when we were little and we did this all the time?” asks Gou, sidling up to him with flour-covered hands.

Rin grins. “Yeah, you’d always eat all the chocolate chips before we could put any in and I always got batter in your hair.”

“This was a good idea,” she says, smiling and pecking him on the cheek before grabbing the whisk out of his hand and sailing over to the opposite counter. “I need this!”

“Oi-“ Rin starts but doesn’t continue, smiling instead and putting a hand to his cheek. A lot of unexpected kisses today.

It takes forever- and now his kitchen is a total mess, that’s just great- but Rin finally gets two full trays of cookies shoved into the oven and herds everyone back into the living room to finish the decoration while they’re waiting for them to bake. When everything is finally on the tree and Rei presses the button that turns on the lights, everyone lets out a cheer. They take a vote and eventually decide to watch _A Miracle On Thirty-Fourth Street._

So that’s how Rin ends up spending his Christmas- squashed between his boyfriend and sister on the floor because his couch isn’t big enough for everyone, watching a black-and-white movie in front of a DIY mess of a Christmas tree, eating slightly burnt chocolate-chip cookies. Honestly? He can’t think of anything he’d rather do. _Screw expensive gifts and vacations,_ he thinks warmly as all his friends burst out laughing at Mr. Sawyer’s horrified expression when he’s been told that he’s fired.

When everybody finally leaves with heartfelt, ‘Merry Christmas’s and hugs (well, except for Rei and Sousuke), Rin shuts the door quietly behind them and turns back to the dimly-lit living room, Santa Baby still playing softly in the background.

“Did you have fun?” he asks Haru, sitting down next to him on the couch. Haru offers him a rare, small smile.

“Yes.”

“Oh!” Rin exclaims suddenly, remembering something. “I have something for you.”  
            He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little package wrapped in tissue paper and hands it to Haru.

“This is…for me?” he asks. Rin nods. Hesitantly, Haru pulls off the wrapping and removes the intricately woven hemp bracelet inside. His eyes widen.

“Did you…make this?”

“Uh, yeah,” says Rin, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “It’s not much, but- oh wait, did you see the charm?” He reaches over and holds up the little silver pendant dangling from it. It’s two tiny dolphins, curved together in the shape of a heart. Rin can feel his face getting even redder. It’s incredibly cheesy, and-

Haru slips it on and presses his lips to Rin’s. “Thank you,” he says quietly. “And…I have something for you too,” he adds, pulling away.

Blushing more than Rin thinks he’s ever seen him do before, Haru reaches behind the couch and pulls out a clumsily wrapped present.

“Makoto helped me get it,” he mutters, folding his arms over his chest and looking away as Rin unwraps it.

He lets out a gasp of surprise as a bright blue camera falls from the paper and into his lap. “Haru, you got me a camera?”  
            “It’s waterproof,” says Haru, still not looking at him. There’s a little piece of paper inside with an intricately drawn shark, and the kanji for Rin’s name written in shaky, uncertain handwriting. Haru doesn’t need to explain any further, and Rin pulls him into a kiss. Haru’s hands come up to push on his shoulders until he falls back on the couch, and he climbs over him to deepen the kiss. Rin responds eagerly, then pulls away gasping.

“Does this mean you like it?” asks Haru, not a drop of sarcasm in his voice. Rin laughs, loud and bright.

“I love it, Haru.”

Haru leans down again to kiss him, but before their lips can meet, Rin says it. They’re not even doing anything that special, and there’s no moment of sudden realization, but surrounded by that tissue paper with the camera in his hands and Haru’s warm weight over him, his clear blue eyes focused completely on his own, Rin says it.

“I love you.”  
          

Haru pauses. “I love you too,” he says, sounding puzzled.

“No-“ Rin says, struggling to sit a little more upright. “I mean, _I love you._ It- okay, it’s a really big deal on earth, you only say it when you-“

“I know what it means, Rin,” says Haru gently, sitting up so they’re sort of in each other’s laps and eye-level. Without a trace of doubt or uncertainty, he looks straight into Rin’s eyes and says, “And I love you.”

Rin feels it again, that weird urge to cry. Why does that always happen with Haru? He pulls him down again, and they don’t speak words again until they go to bed.

*************************

The night is cold, but the bed is warm, and the light from the tree illuminates the snow falling silently outside. Once he’s sure that Haru is asleep, Rin quietly picks up the camera, and, making sure the flash is off, takes a picture of him, mouth open and hands scrunched up in Rin’s shirt. He puts the camera down and shifts around so that he’s closer to Haru and places his arm around him.

“Merry Christmas, Haru,” he whispers. “See you later.”

 

_All is calm,_

_All is bright._

_Sleep in heavenly peace; sleep in heavenly peace._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is late and I am so sorry but I've had like a ridiculously huge amount of stuff to do and it ended up being hella long. I never used to get it when fanfic authors would apologize for long chapters, but now i feel the need to do so because these are getting out of hand. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate, and Happy Holidays in general! This is my present to you :3 Please leave a review, they are my favorite things in the world!


	11. Burnt Fish and Burnt Bridges

It’s a cloudy Tuesday in March when Haru first calls it their bed. They’re sitting in the bathroom together, Haru flicking his tail back and forth slightly, and Rin asks spontaneously, “Do you wanna sleep in here tonight?” to which Haru replies, “But our bed is in the other room.” It’s a pretty small thing, but it makes Rin realize- they’re really and truly a couple, living together and fighting over the remote and attaching an “our” to pieces of furniture. They’re past the honeymoon stage, and Rin is relieved but somehow not surprised to find that he is still just as in love with Haru as he was before, and if the way Haru always blushes when Rin lets out a particularly loud laugh and brushes his fingers over Rin’s collarbones as if he’s never seen them before are anything to go on, Haru is too.

            “Hey, have you ever thought about trying to cook?” Rin asks one day, turning to him. Haru frowns.

            “Why? You always do it for us.”

            Rin rolls his eyes. “I _know,_ that’s the point. Come on, I can teach you.”

            Haru scowls. “Don’t feel like it.”  
“Well I don’t feel like making every single meal all the time. Now come on,” says Rin insistently, hauling Haru to his feet and into the kitchen with mild grumbling from the other man.

            “Okay. Here’s the mackerel,” says Rin, showing him the drawer he kept it in. “This is the already-prepared stuff, so you don’t have to do anything fancy. This is the frying pan-“ He opens a cupboard and pulls it out to show to Haru. “-and this is the stove. You turn it on like this so that there’s just that much flame, and then you just put oil and the fish in the pan and put the pan on the flame until the fish turns brown. Think you can do that?”

            Haru nods uncertainly and takes the pan from Rin, holding it away from himself and eyeing as if it might attack him. Rin observes while he rather clumsily pours oil into the pan and places the fish gingerly on top, then puts it over the burner and steps back victoriously.

            “Great, so just keep an eye on that for, like, ten minutes and take it off when it’s brown, the way I make it.”

            Haru nods his understanding, and Rin goes back to the living room. Fifteen minutes later however, there’s a sudden clang and a huge cloud of smoke pours out of the kitchen, followed by a horrible burning smell.

            Rin runs into the kitchen, coughing and waving a hand in front of his face. “Haru! Haru, what did you-“

            He stops when he sees that the fish has somehow landed directly on the open burner, and Haru is desperately trying to pull it out without burning himself.

            “Haru! Stop, stop!” he yells and twists the knob so that the burner turns off. Coughing loudly, Haru suddenly sinks to the floor.

            “Oh man it smells bad in-“ Rin starts before he’s interrupted by his own laughter. “Sorry-“ he gasps. “-it’s just- you- oh my God, I’m sorry, but that was so funny.”  
            Haru doesn’t laugh or even look up. Rin’s laughter subsides and he bends down so that he’s eye level with Haru.

            “Haru? What’s wrong?”

            Haru says nothing.

            “Haru?” he asks concernedly. “I shouldn’t have laughed. It’s okay, it was just an accident. I don’t mind that you burned the fish.”

            “I can’t do anything,” Haru mutters.

            Rin frowns. What’s this?

            “What do you mean, you can’t do anything?” he asks, cupping Haru’s jaw. Haru shakes him off.

            “I’ve been here for almost a year and I still don’t understand. I can never help you. I can’t do anything.”

            He says it all quietly, but it’s quite a bit for him and there’s a bite in his voice that Rin rarely ever hears. “Haru, don’t talk like that,” he says softly. “You don’t-“

            “I don’t belong here,” he says, his voice trembling. Rin’s heart sinks, but he pushes it away and pulls Haru in closer.

            “We can go to the ocean tonight,” he says into Haru’s hair, his voice muffled. They haven’t been in at least a month, and even though it is a little warmer out, still no one is going there at night.

            Haru seems to perk up the slightest bit. Still, they don’t move from that position for a few minutes, almost as if they’re afraid their motion will scare away the last breaths of smoke.

***********************

            Rin had known that the fake Mikoshiba and Nitori lead wouldn’t last long, but it was still disappointing when an officer phoned in urgently later that day saying she’d found them- she was currently chasing them down Exit 43 and needed backup. Sousuke stands up without a moment’s pause, but Rin is a little slower. Fucking hell. Criminals in this area are useless.

            “Rin, you grabbed my Taser, right?” yells Sousuke over the radio crackling with messages from four different officers.

            “Yes, I got it, pay attention to where we’re going!” Rin yells back, leaning in closer to the radio. The sirens and static pound on the sides of his skull, and he makes out the words “…moving onto 220…Yamazaki and Matsuoka, they’re headed your way!”

            “What does the car look like?” Rin yells into the intercom.

            “Black pickup, real banged up, terrible muffler!”

            Suddenly a black truck with dust flying off it veers into Rin’s line of vision. It’s rattling and screeching like a haunted house and looks like someone has tossed a large box of hammers at it.

            “Sou, it’s them! Right there, speed up!”  
            Sousuke flattens the pedal to the ground and leans forward, his eyes set in concentration. “Someone come in from the front!” he yells into the intercom. Another cruiser appears on the other side of the truck, which suddenly screeches to a halt and attempts to scoot out to the left. But the other officers have already gotten out of their cars and surrounded it in a semicircle with their guns up.

            “The game is up, kids!” yells Chief Mikoshiba. A more desperate note enters his voice and he adds, “Please, I’m begging you, just get out of the damn car before this goes any farther.”

            There’s a defeated sounding creak and two young men who look like they could be in college slink out of the car with their hands in the air. Some of the cops almost look like they want to put their guns down at the sight. Rin’s seen countless pictures of the pair, but photographs can’t quite capture the nervousness and innocence in Nitori’s large blue eyes, only a few shades lighter than Haru’s and almost as big as Nagisa’s. Mikoshiba’s carrot-colored hair is tousled like he’s just gotten out of bed, and Rin spots a bright pink band-aid on one of the fingers that twitches nervously in the air. He offers the chief a sheepish grin and says, “Looks like you found me, big brother.”  
            “Cuff them,” growls the chief, gesturing with his gun. Rin pulls out his handcuffs and wastes no time in snapping a pair around each of their wrists before hauling them back to his car.

            The other cruisers form a loose diamond around them, and Sousuke switches his sirens on and starts the drive back to the station. Inside the car, all is quiet for a while until suddenly there are a few short, pitiful sniffs, and Mikoshiba hisses, “Ai, be quiet! That’s embarrassing!”

            “I-I can’t help it,” whimpers the other boy. “I knew this would happen! We shouldn’t have gone out this far today, y-you knew they were looking for us!”

            “Damn straight, you shouldn’t have,” Sousuke cuts in. “Although more to the point, you shouldn’t have committed the crime in the first place.”

            “I told you, we didn’t steal your dumb mermaid!” Mikoshiba cries indignantly, the chains clinking as he leans forward. “Why would we want to do something like that anyways?”  
            “Well, we’re about to find out,” Sousuke replies as they pull up to the station.

            The chief’s eyes are hurt and defensive as he watches his brother and Nitori being dragged into the interrogation room on chains like a pair of wild animals, and he turns away decisively and says, “Don’t be soft on them, Matsuoka. But I don’t want to be a part of this anymore.”

            “Yes sir,” says Rin, feeling worse than ever. He follows Sousuke into the interrogation room, where the two boys are seated and looking around with trembling lips like it’s a tomb.

            They start off with the basics- where were you that night, what were you doing, etc.

            “So you were at Iwatobi Club until quarter of one and then you don’t remember what happened after you left?” Sousuke asks, leaning towards them. “Do you actually expect me to believe that you just _forgot?_ ”

            Nitori looks like he’s about to start crying again. “We were drunk! You have to know that much if you saw the pictures! We really, truly can’t remember anything!”

            “No, wait!” exclaims Mikoshiba suddenly. “I actually do remember something!”

            “Oh, how convenient,” Rin mutters.

            “Kisumi! Call Shigino Kisumi! Because we went there with him, so maybe he took us home!” says Mikoshiba excitedly.

            Rin narrows his eyes at him. “Shigino? What’s his phone number?”

            Nitori practically spits out a stream of numbers at them, and Sousuke comes back from the phone a few minutes later to tell them that Kisumi is on his way.

            They’d been sitting there in silence for about twenty minutes when there’s a noise outside in the hall. _Thank God,_ Rin thinks. He and Sousuke have been giving Nitori and Mikoshiba their Bad Cop glares for so long that it’s beginning to feel like a staring contest.

            Two officers escort a young man with mild violet eyes and wavy, bubblegum pink hair into the interrogation room.

            “Kisumi!” cries Nitori in relief as Shigino lowers himself into the chair.

            “Hey there, Nitori! What’s this about stealing a mermaid?” he asks. His voice is light and airy.

            “Shigino Kisumi,” says Rin. “I don’t know how much Sousuke told you over the phone, but I’m assuming you know something about the mermaid that was brought to the aquarium several months ago.”

            “Of course I do,” says Shigino, still looking confused. “It was all over the news. He was stolen, right?”

            “Kidnapped,” Rin corrects him automatically. Sousuke gives him a weird looks, but he plows on. “Your friends here are suspects. They were seen leaving a club only a few minutes away from the aquarium a few minutes before the crime was committed. Two figures were spotted, and-“ He holds up the bag with the wallet chain in it. “-we also have Mikoshiba’s wallet chain here, picked up right outside the aquarium. Your friends claim they can’t remember anything after they left the club, but they _do_ say that you brought them there and think you might’ve seen them afterwards. Can you confirm this?”

            Shigino’s eyes widen. “What- they didn’t kidnap the mermaid! Them?” He lets out a bubbly laugh. “They could _never_ do something that impressive!”

            Sousuke scowls. “That’s _fantastic,_ but we were looking for actual evidence that they didn’t commit the crime.”

            “Oh, and I drove them back to their house and dumped them inside after they’d finished throwing up about five bottles of liquor each and passed out.”

            Rin grits his teeth. Of course they have a perfect eyewitness and an actual motive. “Shigino, you are aware that this is an official police investigation? We haven’t brought this to court yet, but if we do, you’ll be expected to testify under oath that they didn’t do it.”

            Shigino shakes his head firmly. “I am absolutely positive that they did not steal any mermaid. As for the wallet chain, that’s not Momo’s. I know because he left his at my house last week. I can go get it for you if you’d like.”

            Sousuke sits back with a final, disappointed look in his eyes. “We’ll send some officers by to pick it up. In the mean time, we’ll be running a background check on you. But it looks like for now, you two…” He swings his head reluctantly towards Nitori and Mikoshiba. “Are cleared of suspicion.”

            “Oh, thank you, Officer! Thank you so much!” exclaims Nitori. I knew you’d realize we didn’t do it. Not that I’m calling you wrong, or stupid, or anything like that, I mean you’re very smart, I mean-“

            “Don’t get so excited, kid, we’re not entirely done. You’ve got about forty papers to sign now. And _you_ – “ Rin turns to Mikoshiba. “I think your brother will be wanting to have a very serious talk with you.”

            Mikoshiba turns green as Sousuke gets up to escort them and Shigino from the room. He comes back and sits down next to Rin with a huge sigh.

            “Shit. I really thought we had something there,” he mutters, glaring at the table. “Months of searching and questioning, just for it to dead-end the minute we catch the damn kids.”

            He looks so defeated and sad that Rin sort of wants to give him a hug but decides that would be weird. Instead, he slaps his friend on the back and says, “Well, we’ll just keep on trying, why won’t we?”

            Sousuke doesn’t look up. “Yeah, I guess so. What choice do we have?”

            Rin’s never felt worse in his life. He feels like shit, no, worse than shit. This can’t go on. How much longer can he hide away the one he loves, let his friend build himself up over and over again just to fail because of him? He can’t take it anymore. He stands up suddenly and mutters, “I’m taking the rest of the day off,” and storms through the door.

            He stops right outside in the parking lot and lets out a loud groan, slumping against the brick wall of the station. There’s a sound of footsteps, and he looks up to see- who else?- Rosen.

            “Ah, Rin, just the person I was hoping to see!” he exclaims happily, then frowns. “Something wrong?”

            Rin forces himself to look up at his stupid, concerned face. He resists the urge to punch it. “I’m _fine._ Just going home, actually,” he says, moving to push past the doctor.

            “Wait! I wanted to ask how the investigation is going,” says Rosen, grabbing his sleeve. Rin forces himself to take a few deep breaths and not judo-flip the guy to the ground just for touching him. “Anything new on that lead with the two kids?”

            “We actually just cleared them of suspicion,” he says.

            “Oh no, really?” he asks, his face falling. “I mean, that’s wonderful for the kids of course, but it seems you’re running out of places to look, wouldn’t you say? There’s hardly anyone in this town who you haven’t investigated yet.”

            Rin turns to face him, teeth bared. “You’re right, Dr. Rosen. You really are. You know who we haven’t investigated yet? You. You had an awful lot of easy access to Haru, didn’t you? Maybe we should be questioning _you,_ ” he spits furiously.

            Rosen doesn’t even blink but says evenly, “Then by that logic, we should be looking into you as well, don’t you think, Rin?”

            Rin turns on his heel and storms away to his car, stomach churning. He doesn’t look back, but in his rear view mirror, he catches a glimpse of Rosen, still standing right where he’d left him. Just standing there, watching him. Rin steps on the gas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so i have no idea how any legal systems work at all ever. yaaaay for nitori, momo, and kisumi! Come talk to me at trashcocoon.tumblr.com if you'd like :-) oh and happy new year! see ya in 2016


	12. Colors of the Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter. Are ya ready kids?
> 
>  
> 
> Please don't hate me.

“Haru, I think Dr. Rosen suspects me. We have to be more careful.”

            Haru frowns. “But we’re still going to the ocean tonight, right?”

            “Haru, I don’t think we can-“ Big blue eyes. Fuck. “Okay, okay,” he sighs, taking Haru’s hand and lifting it absent-mindedly to his lips. “But that’s gonna be it for a while, okay?” he says against his knuckles. Haru nods, looking relieved.

            They’re both quieter than normal on the ride there tonight. Once they get to the ocean, however, both of them visibly relax. Rin strips off his clothing while Haru walks straight into the shallows, fully clothed, the water glowing blue as he transforms. Rin jumps in, laughing, and Haru touches his chest and eyes so he can see and breathe. They swim out deeper and race each other around. Clouds cover the stars tonight, but the moon’s milky light just barely strains through it. Rin grabs Haru’s forearms and pushes him down beneath the waves. Under the water, Haru’s magic makes a glowing blue bubble around them. His tail coils protectively around Rin’s legs and his fingers push through his hair as their mouths mesh together. Rin realizes how much he’s missed this- this warmth, no, _heat_ that comes from them being in the water together, the electric energy that courses through his veins when he’s swimming next to Haru.

            It seems like hours later when they finally emerge from the water again, Haru slightly shaky on his legs again after spending such a long time with a tail and Rin giggling a little as he holds him up. Haru pushes him down onto the sand and starts kissing over the edge of his jaw.

            “Haru- Haru, stop,” laughs Rin. Suddenly there’s a soft noise of shoes shifting in the sand behind him, and with a pop, Haru is gone and the lamp lies in Rin’s still-wet lap. Rin whips around to see who it is. His heart falls through the ground. It’s Dr. Rosen.

            “Hello there, Rin,” he says, smiling, his teeth and eyes sunken, glowing patches in his shadowy face.

            “Dr. Rosen! Wh-what are you doing here?” says Rin, standing up quickly and holding the lamp loosely at his side, hoping it looks natural.

            “Oh, just going for a walk,” replies Rosen. Somehow his mouth barely moves as he says this, that ghoulish grin still plastered on. “What’s that you’ve got there?”

            “This?” asks Rin, glancing down at the lamp. “Ah, that’s just my lamp, I was taking it to get…repaired.”

            “Really? What’s wrong with it?” he asks, his voice almost gleeful.

            _He knows,_ Rin thinks. _He knows I have Haru, he’s going to find him. There’s no way out, there’s no fucking way out._ “It-it doesn’t turn on no matter how many times I change the light bulb.”

            “Here, let me see. I’m actually quite good with this sort of thing.”

            “No, that’s okay,” says Rin quickly, gripping the lamp tighter. “I’m sure the people at the shop will know what to do.”  
            “At least let me take a look,” says Rosen, stepping forward and reaching for the lamp.

            “Hey, don’t touch that! Let _go!_ ” exclaims Rin, pulling back on the lamp.

            “The game is up, Rin!” yells Rosen through gritted teeth, his eyes popped wide like a madman. “Why would you be on a beach at midnight in your bathing suit to get a lamp repaired?”

            “I- I-“ Rin doesn’t know what to say. His heart beats loud in his ears as he frantically tries to pull the lamp away from him. “I don’t know! It’s my business, isn’t it?! Let go!” he yells, trying to kick at Rosen’s shins.

            “That’s right! You don’t know! Because you’re lying! Now give me that lamp!” Rosen yells, pulling it so hard Rin stumbles forward, enough so that the lamp flies out of both their hands and falls onto the sand. With an explosion of blue light and a noise like a hundred bass drums being beaten all at once, Haru appears on the sand, hands bracing himself as he leans back to look at Rosen, his face frozen in terror.

            “I knew it!” yells Rosen victoriously. His crazed grin stretches so wide it threatens to crack his face in half. “Haru! You came back to me!” He reaches down to grab at Haru’s arms. Paralyzed with fear, Haru simply sits there shaking.

            “Don’t touch him!” screams Rin, shoving Rosen in the chest so that he stumbles backwards. “I know what you did!” he yells, his voice shrill in his own ears, his hand balling into a fist. It connects with Rosen’s face with a horrible crunching noise. Blood spurts from his nose. “I saw it! You cut off his finger! You abusive, fucked up, absolute psychopath!”

            “He was disobeying me!” hisses Rosen, struggling to his feet. “Animals respect their masters!”

            “He is _not_ an animal!” Rin roars, punching him again. The moon lights up the left side of his face, where a huge purple and green bruise is forming over his eye.

            “He _is_ an animal,” growls Rosen. “Nothing more, and nothing less. And _I_ am his rightful owner!” he screeches, pulling something out of his pocket. The barrel of a gun flashes. “And if you know what’s best you will give him back to me _right now!_ ”

            “Rin,” gasps Haru. “Just let him. I don’t want you to die.”

            “Don’t worry, Haru,” says Rin through clenched teeth, eyes still fixed on Rosen. “He wouldn’t have the gu-“

            _Bang._

Rin doesn’t think he’s ever heard so much anguish in a single word as when Haru screams his name. “ _Rin!”_ His voice is ragged and he sounds like he’s been stabbed.

Slow motion. The world turns black and white as Rin feels the bullet sink into his skin, farther, farther, farther, undoing all the knots that hold him together. And now he’s falling, hands coming up to touch his heart, where the bullet went in. For a moment, he doesn’t feel anything. Confusion, at the most. And then it sets in- the pain, ripping, clawing, burning through his heart and lungs and bones and making every part of him scream like no human ever has to make it stop, make it stop, and his head is exploding, and his hands are covered in blood, and his back hits the sand, and all he can feel is fire.

            His eyelids twitch like camera shutters, and he sees Haru running to his side and grabbing his face.

            “Rin!” he screams. His eyes glitter with tears. “Rin!”

            “Haru…” Rin whispers, letting his head fall into Haru’s palms. A tiny gossamer smile lights upon his face as he lets his arms fall from his chest. “See you later.”

*********************

            Haru stares down at Rin, his hands shaking. His noiseless sobs rip through his chest, but it doesn’t feel real. It can’t be real. Slowly, he stands and turns to Rosen, fury blazing in his eyes.

            “You,” he says in a ragged whisper. His hands burst into blue flames as he raises them from his sides, his arms shaking with grief.

            “Haru,” gasps Rosen, struggling to sit up. “Haru, come on. Come with me. Back to where you belong.”  
            “Stop saying that word.”

            “What word?”

            “Belong. I do not belong to you. I never did. And I never. Ever. Will,” says Haru, his voice choked. He can hardly see anymore through his tear-glazed eyes. As he brings his hands together in front of him, he doesn’t see or think of Rosen. He thinks of Rin’s smile, the last one, how it’s going to decompose and he’ll never see it again. He’ll never swim with him again and see his eyes light up, he’ll never put his arms around him again and feel his heart beat, alive and steady like the waves of the ocean. Rin was so ridiculously alive all the time, but now…it pounds through his skull, the fact, the inescapable fact, that he is dead on the sand. Haru watches Rosen’s eyes widen in fear with a sickly satisfied feeling in his churning stomach. He summons everything he has, and with a crackling, buzzing noise, the fire twists and elongates into a beam of electric blue light, pouring straight into Rosen’s chest. Haru enjoys the sound of one horrible, wailing screech of agony- and then Rosen’s dead, his body just a stuffed doll lying on the sand with a smoking, charred hole burnt through the middle.

            Haru runs back to Rin’s side, scrambling over the sand, his throat thick. Rin’s eyes are just barely open, but the little slits are already dry and empty. They’re dead, hollow. He’s gone. His skin is still wet and pale in the moonlight. A corpse. He’s a corpse already. It all builds up in Haru’s throat and behind his teeth until his mouth falls open and he lets out a wail, loud and angry and anguished. With no strength left to hold himself together, his body reverts back to mermaid form. His chest stutters in and out with the waves that wash over his fins. He collapses on Rin’s still chest, his body shaking and heaving as he hiccups and gasps, his hands and mouth pressed against Rin’s chest.

            Suddenly his sobs subside as he remembers something.

 

            _He had been ten years old when he’d found it- a young dolphin, dead, only a year old, with a huge gash in its head- probably from a fishing hook. His mother had been there with him, and she had covered his eyes, but he shook them off and swam to the dolphin, running a hand over its smooth side. He’d looked up at his mother imploringly._

_“It’s dead, sweetheart,” she said gently, pulling his hand away._

_“Make it better,” he said instantly._

_She’d hesitated, then said, “Well…all right, dear.”_

_Her eyes scrunched up in concentration and her hands filled with light, which she pressed gently to the dolphin’s side. The wound began to glow, and Haru’s eyes widened. Then, suddenly, the light all went out and the dolphin was just as dead as it had been before. He’d gazed up at her and said confusedly, “It didn’t work. Do it again.”_

_His mother had sighed. “I’m sorry, darling. That kind of magic is very tricky- you only have one chance to get it right. Once you fail, I’m afraid it’s over. Normally you must be very close to whoever you’re trying to bring back for it to work.”_

_Haru had nodded his understanding and let her bring him away from the dolphin, but every day for the next few months, he’d visited the spot where he’d found the dolphin and watched its body slowly turn to dust._

He stares down at Rin now, biting his lip. _One chance,_ his mother’s voice echoes in his ears. What else can he do? He has to at least try. If he fails…well, if he fails, then that’s that. But he has to at least try.

He sits up, closes his eyes, and lets his magic flow out from his mind and through his veins, out to his fingertips and back, a river pouring over and under his skin, his emotions running through it.

He looks down Rin and thinks of his head thrown back in laughter, his face cupped in Haru’s hands, his eyes focused only on Haru, his loving arms and lips and eyes. Blue light begins to leap from his palms, and he brings them together over the wound in Rin’s chest. It flows over his bloody skin, and plumes of brilliant rainbow light fly up from his chest and fill the sky for miles above them. More and more light explodes out and wreaths Rin’s face.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Haru thinks, pressing his hands harder and harder into Rin’s chest. He feels as if his love is choking him and ripping his lungs apart. “Please come back,” he whispers. There’s so much light he feels like he’s going blind and it’s filling his eyes and his ears and please work, fuck, please work, please-

Then suddenly all the light subsides and he’s left holding Rin’s still unmoving body in his arms.

“No, no, no, no,” he mutters. He sits back, his mouth dry, feeling like the ground is giving way beneath him. _It didn’t work,_ he thinks, his chest hollow. He failed. It didn’t work, and he’s gone forever.

Suddenly, Rin stirs slightly. Haru looks down in disbelief, but- no, it’s real, it’s real, the wound is gone, his eyes are fluttering and opening-

“Haru?” he croaks out. “What- how did-“

Haru throws his arms around his neck and brings their mouths together, and it’s so sweet, it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted, felt, Rin is filling his blood, alive, alive, alive. He feels something wet on his cheeks, but it’s not his tears- it’s Rin’s.

“Haru,” he whispers. “You’re okay. I’m okay.”  
            Haru nods. They stare at each other, disbelieving, and then Haru collapses into Rin’s arms, and Rin is laughing again, that laugh- he’s okay. They’re okay.

“I never told you why I left the ocean,” Haru mutters, running his fingers through Rin’s hair. “My kingdom was too small. I wasn’t free. I thought the world here would be bigger, but I was even more caged up than before.”

Rin frowns. “But you stayed.”

Haru nods. “I could’ve left anytime, but not without you. I’m only free when you’re here.”

“Haru…” says Rin slowly. “Being in the water with you is the best thing I’ve ever felt. I know you miss the ocean, and we’re not safe in this world anymore. But I know what we can do.”

*******************

Every look that Haru gives Rin during the flight is a wordless, _Are you sure you’re okay with this?_ And every time, Rin nods, _yes._ He’s not entirely sure of what he’s doing, but he knows he’s doing it with Haru. For better or for worse, they will be together.

They get some strange looks in the airport, as they aren’t carrying a single piece of luggage between them. Rin hails a taxi, and the only words that come out of his mouth for the entire ride are where he wants the driver to leave them. His knees bounce up and down with jittery nervousness, and he shoves his hands underneath him to stop them from shaking. Haru puts a hand on his leg and gives him that look again, and again, Rin nods, _yes._

“I lived here for a little while,” he tells Haru when they arrive on the beach where the taxi had dropped them off. “Sort of in this area, but a little closer to the city.” Australia is pretty far from Japan, where Haru had washed up on that first day. If the kingdom over there was too small, then it wouldn’t stretch to Australia’s waters.

Haru nods. They continue in silence along the beach until the noise of the crowds die out and the only ones there are themselves and some seagulls.

“Here it is,” he says, craning his neck to look up at the cliff face above them, which rises up so high it looks like it’s touching the sun. A little farther away, it swoops down to meet the deep ocean waters. Rin takes a deep, shaky breath and says, “Let’s go.”

They hike up the winding path that leads them to the top, panting and wiping their brows. When they finally reach the top, they’re greeted by the view of jutting expanses of rock and two sheets of pure blue that meet at the horizon- the sky and the water. They walk to the edge of the cliff and both glance down- bottomless blue, ripples coursing over the top. For the first time since they began the hike, Rin turns to Haru. A wind blows over them, ruffling Haru’s hair into his eyes. When it settles, his eyes are sharp and focused on Rin’s, and Rin knows- they’re doing this. They’re really doing it. Without a word, they both smile at each other.

“You’re sure you can do this?” asks Rin.

Haru holds up his wrist, where the dolphin charm catches the light, and nods. Stomach churning, Rin nods back. He takes Haru’s hand. It’s warm and it doesn’t shake even the slightest bit as he grips it back. Suddenly Rin leans in and kisses him quickly.

“For good luck,” he says, hoping his voice is steady.

Haru nods again. “Ready?”

Rin looks towards the horizon again. He takes a deep breath. “Yes.”  
Their footsteps perfectly synched, they leap forward and off the cliff. Rin

turns to Haru, whose hair is flying up from his face and whose eyes are focused on him. Blue light flows up around both of them, and Rin looks down at himself again. His clothes are disappearing, and in his legs’ place, a long red tail fish tail is forming and stretching towards the water below. He looks back at Haru, who is smiling with everything he has, like he’s never smiled before. And he feels it, the months of wanting and months of loving, the fear and joy and grief, and this, finally, _finally,_ the freedom. Rin sees Haru’s own tail grow out next to his, red and blue, fitting perfectly like the sun and the moon. He closes his eyes and draws Haru into himself, and just for a moment, they dance in the air, both curled into and a part of each other, a glowing yin and yang. Rin feels his fins hit the water and Haru’s lips suddenly against his own. And just like that, everything begins to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. This has been quite the adventure. Thanks to everyone who read it and thanks especially to mistyheartrbs and ohmynanase. I hope you all enjoyed it, and as always, please leave a comment! Tumblr is trashcocoon.
> 
> See you later~


End file.
